Disney's Ghostbusters: The Dead End
by RetroWriter2012
Summary: In the final installment of the Disney Ghostbusters saga, two different Ghostbusters teams from two different worlds must come together to save other multiple worlds from the embodiment of evil himself, Chernabog, and an old enemy that both teams have all too much in common. Reviews are welcomed!
1. Out With the Old

**Chapter One: Out With The Old**

**Dimension A**

"My name is Doctor Peter Venkman. My associates – Doctor Ray Stantz, Doctor Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore – and I have come to protect _this_ dimension from a threat that we've tracked directly to this city. And you can bet your ass that we won't be leavin' this town until that threat is dealt with. From this moment on, we are _your_ Ghostbusters!"

Peter Venkman replayed the footage from the interview with Ciciley Michelle for what felt like the zillionth time to Christina Melnitz. It was his Ghostbuster team's grand introduction into New York City, arriving from "parts unknown" (as Peter described it at the end of the interview), and he was so pleased to have executed it brilliantly that he was practically misusing the power of TiVo – a modern invention that he seemed to have just found out about. Even the perfect clarity on the flat screen television set added to his boastful attitude.

"Now _that_ is how you make an entrance!" Peter exclaimed, pointing to the image of him on the screen. "In-your-face and in…in…" He turned to Phineas, who stood with him at the firehouse's entertainment center with his fellow Senior Ghostbusters (formerly _Junior Ghostbusters_), and he asked, "What did you call this again?"

"High Definition TV?" Phineas answered.

"Right! High Definition TV!" Peter continued to admire the fancy television set. "Y'know, Egon, you almost came up with one of these back in Columbia. Said that it'd make us a fortunate."

Egon Spengler had been standing in the office that belonged to the "Other Venkman" with Ray Stantz, looking over the blueprints of Phineas and Ferb's Ecto-Relayer. "The idea's not dead, Venkman. Not in _our_ dimension."

"O.K., hold up for a sec!" Alex Russo demanded in frustration. "I'm still not getting the fact that you guys are Ghostbusters from another world. How is that even possible?"

Christina was thankful of Alex for asking that question, since she was curious about it herself but could not bring herself to address any of these "new" Ghostbusters, especially Egon. She looked on as Phineas turned to Alex and explained: "The Ecto-Relayer must've brought them here from the way it's tearing apart the fabrics of space and time."

"Phineas is right." Ray confirmed. "This Ecto-Relayer they've designed is much similar to our earliest designs for the Ghost Trap. It worked just like the Traps we made later in our ghost-busting career with one _major_ glitch."

"What kind of glitch?" CeCe asked.

"Well…" Ray pointed out the nearest window. "You're seeing it right now."

Rocky approached Egon and Ray and joined with them in looking over the blueprints, even though she had no idea what any of the schematics meant. "But it wasn't Phineas and Ferb's invention that caused all of this." She then turned to Christina and asked, "Isn't that what _you_ said, Miss Melnitz?"

Christina was caught off guard as all eyes focused on her. "I-It's not. I mean…I've seen this all happen before…but it has to be…Maleficent."

"But I thought we destroyed Maleficent." Alex said. "Can she be back?"

Christina shrugged. "I don't know." She then glared towards Egon as she added, "If the _real_ Doctor Spengler were here, he'd know."

Egon noticed her glare and felt a little awkward. Doing his best to get past it, he cleared his throat and stated, "The only possible way of shutting down the Relayer would be to open it like the usual Ghost Traps."

"But wouldn't that suck all of reality into it, along with itself?" Ray inquired – it was a possibility that greatly worried the others.

"Not unless we use a concentrated blast from our proton streams to counteract the force field once it's unleashed from the Trap." Egon deduced.

Listening to the plan, Venkman wondered aloud: "You're not talking of crossing the streams again, are you, Egon?"

Egon shook his head. "No, of course not. Merely using a similar approach in closing the dimensional portal."

Clearly, Egon's words were not reassuring enough for Peter. "So our lives could be in considerable danger once again. Terrific."

"Our lives won't be in any danger, Venkman," clarified Ray, "but we are talking of chances that we'll never make it back to _our_ dimension once the portal is closed. We could very well be stuck in this world for a _very_ long time."

The Ghostbusters stood in silence as they pondered over the idea of living a new life in a different version of the lives they left behind in their own New York City. Obviously, it was a hard decision; but they arrived there in that dimension with the purpose of saving it while the "Other Ghostbusters" were currently M.I.A. Finally, Peter broke the silence by slapping his hands and saying with a nod, "Let's do it! I love this world already! Movies in 3D, that Megan Fox chick, and high gas prices!"

This sudden decision from the "new" Ghostbusters did everything but please Christina, who did not want them to _replace_ the Ghostbusters that everyone in this world already knew, despite the bad reputation they developed recently. She admitted that with her friends' absence that these "new" Ghostbusters were the only team everyone could depend on; but it still did not make their presence there feel right, especially now with the chances of them being there presumably forever.

"Phineas, your blueprints say that the Relayer comes with a controller?" Ray indicated.

"Yep." Phineas affirmed. "It's upstairs. I'll grab it real quick to bring it with us."

Before Phineas could head upstairs, Ray quickly told him, "Whoa, whoa! I don't think it's best for you kids to come." He saw the disappointment on Phineas and the other faces of the newly christened Senior Ghostbusters – with the exception of Candace, who seemed highly relieved. "Look, you kids have been a huge help, and you'll be an even greater help once this is all over. We'll need you to stay here where it's safe. Ok?"

Phineas sighed and nodded. "Ok, Doctor Stantz."

Ray smiled. "Thanks, kiddo. I'll go and grab the controller."

While Ray headed upstairs right away, Winston Zeddemore (who had been examining the lockers of the "Other Ghostbusters") emerged with a framed photo he uncovered of Kimberly Venkman. "Hey, Peter. Did ya get a good look at your counterpart?"

Peter took the framed photograph out of Winston's hands and looked at the face of the young redhead, his own face reflecting off of it. His eyebrows rose with admiration as he said, "I always figured I'd have a female counterpart, but not a redhead."

"No kidding." Winston mockingly remarked. "Well, I didn't figure there being a female counterpart of myself _at all_ – and a _white_ one at that." He gestured to the opened locker of Diana Zeddemore that had a photo of her taped to the inside of the door. "I don't have to imagine how easy it is for _her_ to get a cab."

Ray found the Ecto-Relayer controller on the pool table in the second-floor laboratory; he was amused over how similar the lab of the "Other Ghostbusters" looked to theirs – even the pool table was in the same place (there was a pool table _period_ – how cool was that?). With the controller in hand, Ray was ready to leave; but just as he turned…

"It's not gonna work."

He quickly turned as soon as he heard the young woman's voice, seeing her standing at the other end of the pool table. She was a beautiful girl with lips as red as a rose and black hair, donned in the standard Ghostbuster uniform. At first Ray thought she was another cadet like Phineas, Ferb, or any of the other kids downstairs; but then he saw something _very_ peculiar: **her nametag had the name "Stantz" stitched on it**. From the quick education they got on their counterparts upon entering their firehouse headquarters, Ray understood that his was a young _man_ named J.G. Stantz; and unless J.G. had a sister he did not know about either, this girl was a mystery.

"Where did you come from?" Ray asked, not remembering ever seeing her in the room when he entered.

"I don't have much time to explain, Dr. Stantz." The girl hurriedly said. "You'll just have to trust me on what I'm about to say." She commenced in removing the Proton Pack that was strapped to her back and placing it on the pool table. It looked like all of the usual packs that both Ghostbuster teams used in their respective worlds. "Where I'm from, this Proton Pack is designed for _stitching_ those tears in the dimensional fabric. You can _only_ use it for 'special occasions' like this. It's _not_ for fighting ghosts of this dimension."

Hearing how she talked of parallel worlds, Ray grew suspicious. "Who are you?"

"Isn't it obvious, Ray?" She tapped at her nametag with her right index finger for clarification.

"Who are you _really_?"

The young woman grinned. "So dedicated in figuring out the unexplainable. If you have to _really_ know, my name is Maryl-Lyn Stantz – no relation to J.G. Stantz or even you. And you'll be seeing _a lot_ more of me in the future, Ray." She winked at him; and, as if the wink was tied directly to it, she disappeared in a quick flash.

The supernatural departure of the mysterious young woman made Ray jump in surprise. He wondered if the person he'd just spoken with was a spirit of some kind. But what kind of spirit dressed like a Ghostbuster and even left Proton Pack – that was evidently real from the way it felt under his touch – specifically for him. If only he had a P.K.E. meter on him at the time, he would have scanned the strange woman to see if she was in fact a ghost. With very little time to waste, he could only use his good judgment to find out how "helpful" she was.


	2. In With The New

**Chapter Two: In With The New**

**Dimension B**

"Hey, Miss. Miss, you okay?"

Kimberly Venkman's head was spinning like crazy. The last thing she remembered was the Black Cauldron exploding in front of her and her fellow Ghostbusters, and everything going dark after. It somewhat helped that a foul smell came in and out of her nostrils, snapping her out of unconsciousness. She quickly realized where the smell came from – a hobo stood over her and tried to wake her by shaking her left breast, a method that was highly unusual to Kim. As soon as he saw that she was up, the hobo let go of her breast and took a step back.

"Oh, good. You're awake." He said. "For a sec there, I thought I had to call 911, which is – you know – hard without change for the payphone."

Kim sat up, rubbing the back of her head; she looked around and discovered that it was nighttime and she was in a park. And it wasn't just any park. "Central Park? I'm back in New York!"

"Best damn city in the world." The hobo said before extending his hand out to her. "My name's Harlan Bojay. What's yours?"

Kim looked at Harlan's hand; she wasn't certain where that hand had been, but she'd touched worse before in her career from slime to a decomposed corpse; a little handshake from a bum wouldn't hurt. "Kimberly Venkman," she said upon shaking hands with Harlan, only to realize that he was actually helping her back on her feet.

"Kimberly Venkman? Are you related to Peter Venkman?"

Her face scrunched in confusion over the name. "Who?"

It was then Harlan saw the "Venkman" nametag on her black, crudely-stitched flight suit. "Oh, well, I guess you'd have to be wearin' his name on one of their suits. Is this a new design they're goin' for with new recruits or somethin'?"

Kim was completely lost on what Harlan told her. She was thankful that she didn't have to worry about pondering over it much longer when someone with a groggily voice spoke out near them. "Yo, Harlan! Got another one up and walkin' again!" She turned her head to find another hobo that looked heavier than Harlan walking alongside a dazed J.G. Stantz.

"Great job, Robert!" Harlan told his homeless comrade just before he looked back to Kim and added, "See? We gotcha reunited with yer fellow recruit."

At the moment J.G. saw Kim, he rushed over to her and surprised her with a huge hug. From the way he was able to wrap his arms completely around her, Kim realized that she was no longer wearing the Underworld-enhanced Proton Pack provided by Doctor Finklestein. It was destroyed in the explosion that she and J.G. amazingly survived. "Venkman, I never thought you'd be such a sight for sore eyes! For a moment, I thought I'd lost everybody!"

Kim broke out of his embrace and looked directly in his eyes, expressing a serious side that he wasn't used to seeing from her. "There's just you and me here. Are the rest…?"

"I'm sure they made it across as well." J.G. assured. He then went on full excitement as he said: "Can you believe that we _actually_ crossed between worlds and survived the experience?"

Listening to J.G. and his peculiar question to Kim, Harlan and Robert exchanged odd looks. "Hey, uh, you guys wouldn't happen to be aliens or somethin', would ya?" Robert questioned with caution.

"Why would you even ask that, man?" Harlan uttered in frustration. "Now they'll probably have us committed to Bellevue."

"Us? _He's_ the one talkin' the weird shit." Robert retorted, gesturing to J.G.

As the two hobos started to bicker back and forth, Kim saw it as a perfect opportunity in walking away from them without saying a word. She grabbed J.G. by his left ear, tugging on it to summon him over to some nearby bushes that they used to hide in. "What the _hell_ are you talking about, Jay?" she whispered to him.

"We didn't just cross between the Underworld and New York." J.G. explained. "We crossed over – _way_ over!"

Kim raised a curious eyebrow. "To where?"

Reaching into his flight suit, J.G. pulled out a rolled-up and somewhat crinkled newspaper. The fresh stains on a few parts of it showed that he had just grabbed it out of a trashcan. He handed it over to Kim, who looked at the headline on the front page. "'New York Cleans Up After Ghostly Attack!'" Kim read, and she looked back to J.G. with disinterest. "This isn't anything _new_, Jay."

"Read the date above the headline."

She did as he suggested and glanced over the date. Her eyes widened in shock upon seeing the year. "1984?" Looking back to J.G. once more, she saw the ecstatic grin on his face. "Did we travel back in time?"

"Not exactly. We _did _go back in time, but twenty-six years in the past of _another_ dimension – one that's not too different from our own." He indicated the front page article that Kim briefly read from. "The story here talks about a Ghostbusters team just like our own, except they're different people with different first names. In fact, _their_ Venkman and Zeddemore are…"

"Men." Kim finished his statement as she already uncovered the connection long before he gave her the paper. "That guy back there mentioned a 'Peter Venkman' when I told him my name. I had no clue who he was talking about…until you showed me this."

J.G. tried to contain his excitement as he further explained: "They did _everything_ we did just a few weeks prior to our arrival – fighting Gozer, taking down the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man…it's all depicted in this article. Venkman, we've found a parallel universe with Ghostbusters like us!"

His excitement became something of a nuisance to her. "Jay! Focus, will ya? We need to find Spengs, Dye, Meagan…"

"Lisa!" J.G. exclaimed, his excitement fading into concern. "Oh, my god! Kim, she was _in_ that cauldron we…"

"Jay, relax. If _we_ survived, then I'm sure _she_ did with everyone else. It's like you said, remember?" J.G. nodded in agreement, although he was still a bit uncertain of Lisa's case. Meanwhile, Kim glanced at the newspaper again. "Maybe we should try to find _these_ Ghostbusters, too. I don't think our expertise has reached the point of transdimensional travel."

* * *

"V-E-N-K-M-A-N…Peter Venkman. You've heard his name enough on television to know who he is."

Janine Melnitz had been on the phone for close to nine hours talking with the police on her missing employers. As the police kept asking for details on their disappearance, Janine grew more agitated; she wasn't clear on the details because she had no idea how they disappeared. Janine left for lunch for a couple of hours and returned to find Peter, Egon, Ray, and Winston all missing from the firehouse. At first she thought they were out on the usual bust in New York or somewhere out of town (maybe Jersey); but, after sundown, she knew something was wrong and contacted the authorities. She even made sure to bring up that "Mr. Woods" stranger who stopped by the firehouse a few weeks ago, giving them some sort of unusual proposition.

When asked to identify "Mr. Woods," Janine went totally blank on his description. He had the most striking appearance that she could hardly forget upon seeing him for the first time; but he made only one visit to the firehouse and since then she had managed to forget it entirely. "Look, just find the Ghostbusters, alright?" Janine told the officer in frustration. "Without them, this city will go straight to hell, you got that?"

She then slammed the receiver down on its hooks, knowing that she probably caused temporary damage to the officer's hearing from doing so; she also probably left herself open to be placed under arrest for rudely conversing with a police officer, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was finding the Ghostbusters. It was an hour past midnight and they still hadn't returned, which made her more worried than ever. The stress soon took its toll on Janine, who stood weary at her desk; of course, she knew that falling asleep or going home was out of the question; there were chances that someone would call about or for the Ghostbusters, and Janine didn't want to miss it.

"Is everything okay?"

Janine's body jolted in surprise from hearing the unexpected visitor; she fell out of her chair and landed butt-first on the floor. Looking over her desk, she saw two people (a young, bespectacled black man and a middle-aged Caucasian brunette) walking through the empty garage portion of the first floor. Janine took notice in how they were wearing crude black versions of the Ghostbusters' flight suits (along with disheveled appearances) and grew very cautious, believing them to be nutcases. Quickly, she reached underneath her desk and pulled out an aluminum baseball bat.

Aiming the bat directly at the two visitors, who froze where they stood upon seeing her brandish it, Janine threatened, "Take one more step towards me, and I promise you'll be picking _both_ ends of this bat from _both_ your asses!"

The two "Wannabe Ghostbusters" rose up their hands fearfully. "Do you think she means it?" The brunette questioned to her companion.

Hearing her, Janine exclaimed, "Oh, I mean it, lady! I've been through alotta crap today! My bosses are missing, _McDonald's_ got my order wrong _twice_ this week, and I haven't slept in almost twenty-four hours! I am _not_ the girl you wanna mess with tonight!" As she kept her eyes on the two strangers, Janine suddenly noticed how they had "Spengler" and "Zeddemore" stitched on the nametags of their pale imitations of the Ghostbusters' uniforms; she then came to a sudden conclusion about the two visitors standing before her. "Oh, Gawd! Y-You're them! The kidnappahs! You kidnapped the Ghostbustahs and are pretendin' to be them!"

"Spengler" and "Zeddemore" looked to each other in confusion. "Zeddemore" refocused on Janine and began to say, "We're not kidna—"

"I'm callin' the cops!" Janine quickly declared.

With one hand still on the bat, she used the other to reach for the phone on her desk, provoking "Spengler" and "Zeddemore" to protest against it. As Janine's hand touched the receiver, there came a flash of light at the corner of her left eye that made it briefly twitch and then another hand reached over and touched both Janine's and the receiver, holding both of them down. The hand that touched Janine's was completely white with black nails. Freaked out by the hand, Janine followed the arm up to see the hand's owner: **a woman with black hair, a pale white complexion, and black eyeballs and lips wearing a tan Ghostbuster uniform with "Zeddemore" stitched on the nametag**.

The woman stared at Janine and smiled. "Not tonight, sweetness."

Seeing the terrifying-looking woman in the standard Ghostbuster uniform (another that imitated Winston Zeddemore's, just _much_ better than the other "Zeddemore" that stood in the room), Janine was so overwhelmed with shock that she fainted right into her desk chair. The woman gawked at the unconscious Janine strangely before turning to the _other_ two visitors in the firehouse, who gave her the same look of shock that Janine did prior to fainting.

"I swear that I didn't pass it this time." The strange woman stated.


	3. A Matter of Perspective

**Chapter Three: A Matter of Perspective**

**Dimension A**

Christina, CeCe, Rocky, Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, and Alex watched news coverage of the plan that the new Ghostbusters team put into action that would shut down the Relayer and close the vortex that continued to swirl and unleash various monsters above the Empire State Building. Ciciley Michelle was handling the report from a news copter that followed the Black Hawk loaned to the Ghostbusters by General Belcher, who gave the men her blessing – something she hardly ever done with the "other" Ghostbusters. The news copter kept its distance from the Black Hawk as it reached near the antenna at the top of the ESB, exactly where the Relayer was placed by Phineas and Ferb. The Black Hawk was dangerously close to the vortex – a bolt of red lightning nearly struck it down.

Watching the Ghostbusters' plan unfold live on television, Christina knew that they wouldn't get close enough to the Relayer to shut it down without accidentally hitting the rotors against the antenna or risking something out of the vortex coming out to attack them. The plan was doomed to fail from the beginning and – from the way it looked on the newscast – the Ghostbusters were basically doomed themselves.

That was until something _different_ happened.

Shortly after the Black Hawk pulled away from the ESB antenna, something bright and white shot out of the military aircraft and struck the core of the vortex. It was so bright that the news team's camera could not pick up on it. Christina and the children, however, heard its effect as a loud boom rang across the skies like thunder. Quickly, they ran outside the firehouse and looked up to a bright blue sunny morning sky with lovely white clouds; no longer were there purple clouds or a vortex swirling above the ESB.

"They did it!" Phineas joyfully shouted what everyone undoubtedly knew upon seeing how things were back to normal.

Christina had to admit that this new team did in fact do just that. They saved the world just like the Ghostbusters _she_ knew would – had _they_ been there. The only thing that she didn't trust was the fact that they improvised on their plan with the bizarre white stream that one of them fired to take out the vortex. Why wouldn't the Ghostbusters tell any of them – Christina herself mostly – about a new Proton Pack capable of such extreme power? It all seemed highly suspicious to Christina, and she was ready to get some answers when they returned to the firehouse.

* * *

Ciciley Michelle and other members of the press practically stalked the Ghostbusters back to the headquarters. The only thing that separated them was the garage door that closed shut as soon as their Ectomobile pulled in. Ray believed that he dodged an impromptu press conference the moment he saw that garage door close. "Boy, wasn't _that_ a close one!" However, he quickly realized that he wasn't as much in the clear as he thought as he saw the suspecting stares of his fellow teammates, as well as Christina Melnitz, who approached with the Senior Ghostbusters upon their arrival.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us, Ray?" Winston said with folded arms.

He expected this from the others the moment he fired the extraordinarily powerful pack given to him by that mysterious girl and told none of them about it beforehand. "I…uh…I found it in Sean Spengler's lab before we left."

"You just happened to find a Proton Pack capable of sealing a tear in the dimensional fabric of time and space in a strange man's lab?" Peter inquired – the wit in his voice as he asked the question making Ray Stantz's claim sound even more ridiculous than when Ray himself said it.

Of course, Ray stuck with the lie, which (to him) made better sense than the truth. "That's…how I found it. Sean Spengler was dabbing into some pretty nifty tech in this world…niftier than anything _we_ could—"

"BULLSHIT!"

Christina's profanity-laced outburst drew gasps from the Senior Ghostbusters. CeCe, Rocky, Alex, and Candace even covered the ears of Phineas, Ferb, Baljeet, and Isabella in reaction to it; Buford, of course, kept his uncovered. "Meh, I've heard worse," he nonchalantly muttered.

"Christina, calm down." Alex whispered.

"No, Alex! This needs to be said!" Christina glared at the Ghostbusters, focusing all her frustration of losing her original team on these new strangers. "You boys come here and act like you can take over _everything_! Like this is all _your_ territory now! And you've yet to tell us _where_ you come from!"

"Well, I thought that was pretty obvious from the whole 'tear in the dimensional fabric' comment I made just a sec ago." Peter jested.

Winston leaned over to Peter and told him, "I think she's serious about this, man."

"You're damn right I'm serious!" Christina furiously yelled before pointing to Ray and adding, "Your buddy here is keeping secrets and I don't like it!"

"Christina, they just saved the world." Alex indicated. "If they had any 'evil' intentions, don't you think we would've witnessed them by now?"

Peter chuckled. "Is that what this is all about? We're not on some invasion trip here, people. We just want to help."

"Well, you have." Christina said. "Now get the hell outta here!"

"We can't. Our only way back was closed, remember?" Winston reminded.

Christina scoffed. "Yeah, sure! Like it _wasn't_ Hades or Maleficent that brought you guys here in the first place!" She saw the dumbfounded looks on their faces after hearing her comment. "Oh, _come on_! You seriously expect me to believe you guys got here by accident!"

"Well…sorta." Ray innocently said. "I mean, we were told that we would one day be needed here, but we…uh…"

"Told? You were _told_ by whom?" Christina questioned, her suspicions growing.

Seeing that tensions were beginning to rise in the room, Alex immediately intervened. "Hey, hey! Look, we just survived a global disaster. We should be celebrating right now – and by 'celebrating,' I mean going home and having a nice _twenty-four-hour_ nap. How's that sound?"

Christina could see what Alex was trying to do and respected her for it; unfortunately, she had already reached her breaking point and could no longer deal with the stress. "I'll make it easy for everyone, Alex…I quit." Following this declaration, she walked briskly past the Ghostbusters and headed out the front door to the crowd of reporters that were still camped outside the firehouse.

Alex felt completely distraught watching one of the best friends she made since becoming a Ghostbuster leave her job. It didn't help much hearing Peter Venkman say in reference to Christina, "I've got dibs on _her_ room."

"Venkman." Ray somberly uttered.

"We'll get her back," Peter assured, "just like we always got Janine back whenever _she_ quit…which was, like, every Monday and Saturday." He then turned to the newly-christened Senior Ghostbusters and added, "In the meantime, you kids do what your friend here suggested and take a snoozer. We'll hold up the fort here and call when we need ya."

Phineas excitedly smiled. "You got it, Doctor Venkman!"

"Oh, yeah…and you can have this back." Peter said as he walked back to the Ectomobile to retrieve a charred and crinkled Ecto-Relayer that he handed over to Phineas.

Phineas and Ferb gazed upon his demolished invention with pleased expressions. "It looks even more beautiful than before!" Ferb stated.

Candace rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oh, please."

The Ghostbusters watched the kids leave, each one giving them hopeful glances on their way out. Once they were gone, Ray turned to his teammates and said with a smile, "Some kids, huh? Boy, the team from this world really had a great idea with that 'Junior Ghostbusters' program."

"Yeah, it takes quite a load off having _them_ do half of the work." Winston said.

"I wonder how many of them they hired." Ray stated.

That was when the men heard footsteps coming down the nearby staircase and then saw Kate in her tattered Ghostbuster uniform. The sudden appearance of the young woman took the Ghostbusters by surprise as they believed to have had the _new_ firehouse all to themselves. She stopped midway on the staircase, crouched down low, and stared at the men in between the small pillars beneath the railing. She stared in total silence with a blank expression on her smudged face.


	4. First Contact

**Chapter Four: First Contact**

**Dimension B**

"Is she human?"

"That's a negative."

"Why is she wearing a uniform with _my_ last name on it?"

"Not a clue."

"Do you think she might be alien?"

"Conceivably."

"You think she's a threat?"

"Too soon to tell."

Sean and Diana kept their focus on the bizarre-looking woman who seemingly entered the firehouse headquarters of a different Ghostbusters team with a different woman named "Melnitz" working as secretary. _Janine_ Melnitz's unconscious form was currently laid out upon a couch upstairs in what Sean could only presume was the laboratory that bore a strong resemblance to his. The fact that most of everything inside the firehouse resembled theirs confused Sean and Diana because they knew that Janine's presence inside of it meant that it _wasn't_ theirs; regardless, it felt more like home to them than _their_ firehouse did. Despite how homey it all felt to them, there were still answers they needed to find out in regards to _where_ they were and why another woman named Melnitz occupied the firehouse in their absence; and they believed their strange "guest" might've had those answers.

Unfortunately, they had to wait for her to finish in the bathroom before getting those answers.

When Diana and Sean finally saw the bizarre woman come out of the bathroom (_without_ flushing the toilet first) after nearly two hours' time, they felt relieved; of course, they weren't as relieved as _she_ was. As she exited the bathroom, the woman was pulling up the lower half of her flight suit, briefly exposing her tight white briefs that sort of clashed with the black t-shirt she wore with it. She didn't bother slipping on the upper half of her uniform, opting to tie it around her waist instead. Once she had gotten herself together, she looked to Sean and Diana and said, "So…I'm guessing you two have a butt-load of questions."

Diana's hand waved in front of her face as she tried to fan away the foul odor seeping out of the bathroom. "Yeah, starting with this one…have you ever heard of flushing and aerosol?"

The bizarre woman shrugged, nodding towards the bathroom. "Toilet's broken. The guys who live here need to call a plumber when they get back."

"You mean the _Ghostbusters_ who live here?" Sean questioned.

The woman grinned. "Now you're catching on."

Seeing the grin on her face, Diana began to grow impatient. "Okay, enough jerkin' around here. _Who_ the hell are you? What kind of ghost are you?"

She looked to Diana amusingly. "I'm no ghost, Dye." She saw the look of surprise on Diana's face when she uttered her name. "And I know your name because I know all about you, Sean, Kim, and Jay. The Disney Ghostbusters is what _we_ call you all."

"We?" Sean repeated the particular personal pronoun that caught his attention.

"I've already said too much as it is." The woman professed.

"You haven't said much of anything!" Diana exclaimed. "You have _my_ name stitched on your uniform!" She pointed to the upper half of the woman's suit for emphasis; in its tied form, the nametag was obscured, providing no visual evidence.

The woman shook her head. "Have no idea what you're talking about, Dye."

Her intentional negligence only made Diana more frustrated. "Your name is Zeddemore! _My_ name is Zeddemore!"

"And this woman's name is Melnitz, but she neither looks anything like _our_ Melnitz nor is she a relative of hers." Sean said, indicating the unconscious Janine. "Between the both of you, I can come up with only one possible conclusion: you're both of different realms…just like us."

Diana turned to Sean in surprise. "You mean to tell me we're in another world?" She then glanced to the bizarre woman and added, "That this _person_ who has _my_ name is from another world?"

"And that, sir, is why _you're_ the smart one." The woman told Sean with a smile.

"But how is any of this possible?" Diana asked. "Was it because we blew up the Black Cauldron?"

"It's because we couldn't _contain_ it from exploding." Sean indicated. "Fortunately, we minimized the blast long enough to only allow the Underworld to be destroyed…but separating ourselves from _our_ world as a cost."

The woman shook her head and muttered, "I told them that I wasn't needed for this assignment."

Hearing her, Diana lunged at her and angrily grabbed her by the shirt. "If you know _something_ about this, you'd better tell us! We're in no mood for games!"

"Chill, girl. Damn." The woman calmly said. "Fine. Look. If you wanna know my name, it's Joie…Joie Zeddemore. I'm a Ghostbuster, just like you."

"You're not even human!" Diana pointed out. "How can a ghost be a _Ghost_buster? It makes no sense!"

"That's because I'm _not_ a ghost! I'm an alien!"

Diana's eyes grew wide from this revelation, although Sean half-anticipated it from the moment he deduced they were in another world. "Y-You're…an alien?" Diana uttered.

"A Venusian, to be exact; but that's beside the point." Joie stated. "My team needs yours to get together and focus."

"On what?" Sean curiously asked.

"Saving this world and countless others." Joie answered.

"From what?" Diana asked.

Joie groaned, rolling her eyes. "Jeez! Do I have to tell some prolonged story on the whole thing? Do you even know what 'Chernabog' means?" She saw how stunned Sean and Diana looked once she said the name. Satisfied, she looked upward and shouted, "I think they've gotten the message! Beam me up, Chrissy!" With that command, she disappeared in a quick flash, leaving Diana grasping only at thin air.

Immediately after Joie Zeddemore's departure, a shocked Diana looked to an equally shocked Sean. "She said 'Chernabog'? She knows about Chernabog? How does she know about Chernabog?"

Sean shook his head, which was the best answer he could give for her at the time.

Before any more could be said on the matter, the phone at Janine's desk rang downstairs, prompting Diana and Sean to go there and deal with it. As Diana walked up to the ringing phone, Sean quickly stopped her. "Wait! What are you doing?"

Diana shrugged. "We're Ghostbusters, man. 'Who ya gonna call' – remember?" She took the receiver off the hook and placed it to her ear. "Ghostbusters. How can we help?" The voice on the other end took her by surprise. "Kim?" She listened to Kimberly Venkman's voice as it addressed her in surprise. "Never mind why I'm at the Ghostbusters' HQ! Where the hell are you?" She was told of her location as well as the reason for her contacting the Ghostbusters of that world for help. As soon as Diana noted the address and situation, she instructed: "Alright, Sean and I are on our way. You and Jay don't do _anything_ before we get there!"

After she hung up the phone, Sean asked the obvious question: "What's wrong?"

"Kim and Jay are here, too. They're in Times Square and some stone gargoyle is attacking with fire."

"If they showed up without their packs like _we_ did, then they don't stand a chance against it."

Diana went to the locker of "W. Zeddemore" (the name labeled on the door) to retrieve a Proton Pack. "Which is why we're going to _bring_ some for them!" She pulled a Proton Pack out from the locker of "E. Spengler," handing it over to Sean. "This city needs Ghostbusters right now – and since the ones who belong here aren't available at the moment, they'll have to take us instead!"

Strapping on the pack, Sean continued to question Diana's plan whilst indicating the empty garage space near them. "How will we get there without the Ecto-1? That is to say if these men ever _owned_ an Ecto-1."

Diana shyly grinned. "Split the cab fee with ya?"

* * *

Leonard "Lenny" Clotch believed the days of city-wide crises were all behind him after the Ghostbusters, the great heroes of New York City, saved the world from the supernatural threat of "biblical proportions," as Peter Venkman referred to it. At first, when chaos erupted throughout the city that day with calls of "bleeding walls" and a living corpse driving a taxi, Lenny thought of it as just another typical day in the life of zany New Yorkers. However, it took the advice of Mike, his good friend and Archbishop, and the Ghostbusters themselves to convince him that the world would have truly ended had he not granted the team their freedom in stopping the threat. Not only did the Ghostbusters earn the respect of the people that day, but Lenny had as well, promising another term in office.

Now there came news of an upheaval in Times Square that took Lenny away from a wonderful roast dinner that he was having that evening and back into his office as several other delegates – the same ones who came to him during the Gozer crisis – filled his room with complaints of people strapped with the Ghostbusters' equipment fighting off a living stone gargoyle in the area. Lenny merely took it as the Ghostbusters doing their job, but certain details said otherwise. According to these representatives, these Ghostbusters were _not_ the ones the city knew and loved; they consisted of two men (one Hispanic and one Black) and two women (a young redhead and a middle-aged brunette – both Caucasian), had on uniforms that were pale comparisons to the _actual _uniforms of the _real_ Ghostbusters, and were causing damages more extensive – and even violent.

The damages were captured on the eleven o'clock news – large chunks were taken out from nearby buildings, exposing the interior; more than a few neon signs had been blown out; and craters had developed on the streets, creating huge traffic jams. To make matters worse, the reporters on television headlined the situation as "Ghostbusters – A Becoming Threat" with a question mark at the end. That headline was what made Lenny's blood boil over. It was obvious to the Mayor of New York that his next term in office was now in the toilet thanks to some reckless new recruits.

"Get Peter Venkman on the phone _now_!" He roared to his assistant.

His assistant, who already had a phone near his ear at the time Lenny made the request, turned to him hopelessly and informed, "I'm not getting an answer from their office, Mr. Mayor."

"Not even from that overpaid secretary of theirs?" Lenny inquired, and his assistant shook his head in reply. "What the hell's goin' on around here? Is he and his buddies on vacation or somethin'?"

It was then that the police commissioner entered and said, "Lenny…we just caught 'em! Want me to bring 'em in for ya?"

"You're damn right I do!" Lenny furiously bellowed. "Get their asses in here!"

Following the Mayor's orders, the police commissioner turned to two officers that stood outside the Mayor's office and gestured for them to bring in the culprits.

* * *

Kimberly Venkman, J.G. Stantz, Sean Spengler, and Diana Zeddemore walked into the office in a disheveled mess. The crudely stitched uniforms they wore had been scorched, hanging off their bodies and exposing flesh (for Diana and Kim particularly, more flesh than they cared to have exposed to all the men in the room); their nametags had fallen off, leaving their identities abstract. Kimberly and Diana's current hairstyles were akin to the Bride of Frankenstein, sticking up two feet from their scalps. The four carried bruises on their faces, legs, and arms – a purple welt stuck out slightly from Kim's forehead. They were exhausted and in a good deal of pain, but they were alive nonetheless.

One of the officers that escorted the "Faux Ghostbusters" into the room carried a smoking Ghost Trap, containing the gargoyle that the team busted moments ago. The smoke from the Trap filled the office rather quickly, prompting Lenny to yell for the officer to get the ghost-containing device out of the room _immediately_. As soon as the distraction was out of the room, Lenny commenced in confronting the four tousled individuals standing in front of him. Before he addressed them, he eyeballed each of them from toe to head, noting how diverse they were compared to the _real_ Ghostbusters. He stopped his gaze on J.G. and pointed to him.

"You!"

J.G. was taken by surprise over the Mayor addressing him first; he expected that pleasure to have gone to Kim, who was always the first one to be addressed. Pointing to himself, he replied, "Me?"

"Yeah…_you_." Lenny uttered in a snide tone. "You look like the one in charge of this bunch. Where the hell do you…?"

"Actually, _I'm_ the one in charge of this 'bunch,' _sir_." Kimberly stepped forward and clarified.

"Kim!" Diana whispered nervously, not wanting her to do any more damage than what had already been done.

Lenny centered on Kimberly; he was clearly offended by her rude outburst. "Young lady, I don't believe I was addressin' _you_!"

"No, but you _did_ want to talk to the person in charge," said Kim, "ergo, you should be keeping your eyes on _me_, unless that's gonna be a problem for a proper heterosexual male like yourself."

The eyes of everyone in the room widened in surprise of Kim's words to the Mayor; never before had anyone spoken to him in such a manner – except for maybe Peter Venkman. The comment wasn't so much as an insult to Lenny but a witty compliment. Lenny grinned amusingly, but he quickly changed his demeanor once he reminded himself of why Kim and her cohorts were there in the first place.

"Alright, kid. You represent this…ensemble…then you'll have to answer for what you did in the Square tonight."

Kim smirked. "It wouldn't be my first time answering for something I did wrong, Your Honor. I managed to piss off a whole city…and not the one we're in this very moment."

"Well, in _my_ city, I'd expect you to do your job with as much discretion as possible!" Lenny strictly bellowed. "I would've expected your boss to have taught you that when he hired you."

The word "boss" stuck out in Lenny's comment to Kim and her fellow Ghostbusters. It quickly occurred to them what Lenny, the other officials in his office, and probably the rest of the city believed them to be, and it put a huge smile across Kim's face as she saw it as the perfect cover-up for them. There was no way a hard-nosed bureaucrat like Lenny would ever believe that they were actually Ghostbusters from a parallel world. Believing in a giant marshmallow man was one thing, but "Parallel Ghostbusters" would've been pushing it.

"Right…our boss – Doctor V." Kim uttered, deciding to play the role christened to them. "Yeah, he didn't take much time in teaching us the basics. He and the other Ghostbusters had to take care of business outside of New York."

Lenny glared at Kim for a long time as if to ponder on the credibility of her claim. After what felt like forever, he finally said, "That'd explain why we can't reach anybody at their headquarters." In her mind, Kim breathed a huge sigh of relief that the Mayor had bought her story. "I guess we can let this incident pass," he then added with a heavy scowl, "for now."

Kim, Jay, Sean, and Diana stood surprised and slightly baffled. "Wait. You mean we're off the hook?" Kim questioned just to make sure.

"No, you're still _on_ the hook. You wrecked a part of my city, and shit like that I don't forget." Lenny stated. "But, since no one was hurt or killed in the chaos and you _did_ catch a ghost, we'll let this one slide. But if another stunt like this happens again, your asses will be on the first boat ride over to Riker's, understood?"

The team's heads immediately and rapidly nodded in confirmation.

* * *

The bus ride back to the headquarters of the "Other Ghostbusters" was an unpleasant one. Kim, Jay, Sean, and Diana had to share a bus with people who gave them odd stares and deep glares (the latter being the ones who found out about their damages to Times Square). As soon as they arrived in front of the HQ, they could not have been gladder to be off that bus and back home – even though it was not _their_ home. Of course, for Kim, the stress was far from over as she received a mouthful of complaints from Diana about the situation she put them in.

"None of this would've happened if you'd learn to control yourself, Kim!" She angrily exclaimed while the bus pulled away. "What happened earlier is exactly what happened back in _our_ New York! You weren't restrained then and you sure as hell weren't when we confronted that gargoyle!"

Her nagging had reached a point with Kim to where she could no longer stand it. "Christ, Dye! When are you gonna get it that this is part of the job? Yeah, we're gonna jack everything up here and there every now and then, but it's like the Mayor said…no one was hurt or killed."

"Not yet." Diana countered.

"And what the hell's _that_ supposed to…?"

J.G. quickly stepped in between the two women as he saw them advancing on each other, both their noses getting dangerously close. "Alright, alright! That's _enough_ from you two! We've got bigger things to focus on right now, like finding a way out of this place and back to _our _reality."

"Jay's right." Sean stepped in. "It's clear now what brought us here in the first place. There has to be some way of reversing the effects of the event that led to our transference between realms."

J.G. scratched his head. "Um, yeah…I've been thinking about your theory, Spengs, and something just doesn't add up. Us destroying the cauldron alone couldn't have done all of this."

"You think it might've been another force that did?" Diana questioned.

"It's gotta be." J.G. replied. "I mean, we do have a lot of enemies outside our world – the Underworld and the Seventh Circle amongst others. _Anybody_ could be behind us being here, probably getting us out of the way for some big plan."

It was then when one name Diana heard recently popped into her head and forced her to utter it at random. "Chernabog." All eyes went to her. They all knew the name and the supernatural being who it belonged to, but only at that time did they begin to take it as seriously as they had the first time it was mentioned. "We all knew that he would creep back into our lives again after the Seventh Circle incident. What if he's finally found a way to manifest himself into _our_ world?"

J.G.'s excitement grew once he saw how right Diana was. "Hey, yeah! That's got to be it, Dye! Why else would he vanquish us from our realm? If there are no Ghostbusters, then there's no one to stand in his way!"

"But there's just one problem with your theory – what if the Ghostbusters from _this_ world are over in _our _world? The ones here are missing also, remember?" Kimberly pointed out, much to the frustration of J.G. "Look, it's been a long-ass day, and I haven't gotten a bit of sleep since God-knows-when. Let's just sleep on it and figure it all out in the morning."

Her suggestion sounded like an excellent one to everyone, including Diana (who was still thoroughly P.O.'d at Kimberly). They entered the firehouse of their counterparts and had suddenly froze in place as soon as they were met with the end of an aluminum baseball bat held by Janine Melnitz and aimed straight at Kim's head. Janine glared through her owl glasses and said in a demanding tone: "I want answers, and I want 'em _now_!"

Kim sighed. _So much for getting any sleep __tonight_.


	5. Back to Life

**Chapter Five: Back to Life**

**Dimension A**

Lisa coughed up the ocean water that filled her lungs, turning to her side to let it drain from her body. Once it was all out, she lied on her back again and slowly opened her eyes to see the cloudy afternoon skies above. Her head felt like it was on fire and every part of her body ached like crazy. For the life of her, she couldn't remember anything that happened before she fell unconscious. Soon a man appeared in her field of vision; he was an elderly African American man that was obese and bald from the top of his head, sporting a grayish beard, a black coat, a tan dress shirt, and a tan fisherman hat.

The man slowly knelt down beside Lisa and looked upon her in concern. "Young lady, are you alright?"

Truthfully she wasn't, but the last thing she wanted was to show any weakness. "Yeah, I'm fine." To prove herself, she gradually sat up and finally saw where she currently was. She was on a Florida beach, but uncertain of which one. There were tracks in the sand that led away from the shore; judging from the drenched state of Lisa's long blond hair and tattered Ghostbuster uniform, as well as that of the black pants of the elderly man beside her, she deduced that he was the one who pulled her out of the water. "You saved my life!"

The old man timidly smiled. "I only pulled you out of the water when I found you face down in it, young lady. The rest you did all by yourself. I don't know the first thing about that fancy stuff doctors do when they press on people's chests and kiss 'em." It was obvious to Lisa that he was referring to CPR. "And the _last_ thing I'd want to do is touch on a _dead _white girl. No offense."

Lisa gently shook her head. "None taken, sir."

"You can call me Remus, it's alright. Some of the folks around Clearwater call me _Uncle_ Remus, although I can't rightly imagine why."

"Clearwater?" Lisa heard the name of their location and finally recognized the beach itself. It wasn't far from the old shack where she took the Black Cauldron and was ambushed by the Horned King's men. Ever since that moment, she had great difficulty recalling anything that happened between it and waking up after Remus pulled her out of the ocean.

"So you're a Ghostbuster, huh?" Remus said, amusingly indicating her tattered and drenched uniform. "Are you one of Peter Venkman's or are you one of those Tampa kids that are all the craze these days?"

Lisa was hardly in the mood for casual discussion; she needed to find _any_ Ghostbusters to help recover the Black Cauldron, which she knew was stolen. Of course, not wanting to be rude towards the man who rescued her, she answered his question: "Um, no…I'm part of the…" She stopped once she realized something odd about his question. "Wait. Did you say _Peter_ Venkman?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah, Peter Venkman – he's been in charge of the Ghostbusters up there in New York for four years now."

This news put Lisa in a massive state of shock. "_Four years!_ That's…That's impossible!"

"No, it isn't." Remus remarked before pulling out a folded up newspaper from the inside of his coat and unfolding it to show Lisa the front page. "See? Here he is."

Lisa glanced at the photo; on the front page was a group of men that she hardly recognized, all donned in the signature Ghostbuster uniforms and carrying their famous equipment. She noticed the nametags on their uniforms – they were all the same names as the Ghostbusters _she_ knew. Clearly they weren't imposters as there were men in place of Kim and Diana, the man with the name "Stantz" wasn't Hispanic like J.G., and the man claiming to be "Spengler" was not black like Sean. Lisa also dismissed the possibility of these men "borrowing" the uniforms as they perfectly suited them all. Something was off about these men though, and Lisa was beyond anxious to find out.

"LISA!"

She heard her name shouted several times before she and Remus looked in the direction of the screams and spotted Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max Goof, and P.J. running towards them and kicking up sand along the way; their uniforms were drenched and tattered as well. Upon seeing the Junior Ghostbusters run up to her and Remus, Lisa forced herself to stand; Remus saw that she was having a little difficulty and provided assistance. As soon as Lisa was on her feet, the Junior Ghostbusters approached, obviously happy to see Lisa in one piece.

"Lisa, are you okay?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lisa answered. "Are you guys?"

"All good and accounted for." P.J. affirmed.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?" Mickey asked again.

The mouse's concern had begun to wear on Lisa. "Yeah, Mick. I'm fine. You're acting like I'm supposed to be _not_ alright."

"Well, you _were_ possessed by Shan Yu and forced into his body after all." Mickey informed her.

Lisa's face once again registered shock on Mickey's words. "What? When did _that_ happen?"

"You mean _you_ don't remember?" Donald questioned in surprise.

Lisa shook her head. "The last thing I remember was hiding the Black Cauldron and waiting for you and the Ghostbusters to show up before I was attacked. The rest after that is a total blur."

The Junior Ghostbusters stood perplexed. Goofy curiously scratched his head and said, "Gwarsh! Ya mean ya don't remember nothin' that happened in the Underworld?"

"You guys went to the Underworld?" Lisa asked with amusement. "How did you ever make it out?"

Max shrugged. "Ya got us. One minute we're blowin' up the cauldron and then the next we're…"

"YOU BLEW UP THE CAULDRON?" Lisa bellowed. "Why the hell would you guys do that?"

Mickey realized there were a lot of critical events from their recent excursion that had to be recalled for Lisa, but he preferred that it was done in a more comfortable area. "Listen, Lisa, we'll explain all that happened once we find Doctor Venkman and the rest of the Ghostbusters. I'm sure they made it out with us."

"That's a great idea, Mickey." Max said. "Man, I'll feel so much better once we're back in New York. I wonder how everyone's held up while we were away."

After listening to Max, Lisa gazed back at the newspaper Remus gave her and frowned. "Guys, we might have to put New York on hold for a while." The Junior Ghostbusters gazed at her in confusion. "You've got some surprises for me. Well, I've got a _big_ one for you…"


	6. The Woman in Gray

**Chapter Six: The Woman in Gray**

**Dimension B**

"Oh, god! That felt so damn good!"

Kim dried off her hair whilst wearing a comfortable brown robe that belonged to her counterpart, Peter Venkman. It had been three months since she and her teammates arrived in the world parallel to their own (despite the year being 1984 there), and she felt right at home. The original Ghostbusters of that realm had yet to return and, as a result, the city had been calling Kim, J.G., Diana, and Sean instead; they were credited as the "Replacements," much to the chagrin of Kim, who preferred to be the "Junior Ghostbusters" of that world. Regardless of the title, the four of them were Ghostbusters nonetheless and using the original Ghostbusters' equipment proved challenging. Compared to theirs back home, the equipment was primitive, prompting them to go "back to basics" as J.G. described it.

That even included getting a company vehicle to replace the one that the original Ghostbusters took with them to the other world. After a month of spending money on cab fees, the team thought it best to find a car suitable to carry the "Ecto" name. The best that could be done was a white 1973 Lincoln Continental, a car owned by 30-year-old Theresa Rousselot – a new recruit hired by Kim herself just a week prior. Theresa's hiring didn't come without controversy among Janine and Diana, who both disagreed on the decision, believing it to have been _Peter_ Venkman's instead. Of course, from Kim's perspective, between Venkman's three-month absence and the fact that the group was just as short-handed as they were before the "Junior Ghostbusters" program in their realm, it was a wise decision; she just made sure to keep out the "We're from a parallel world" clause from the application.

Coming downstairs in Peter Venkman's robe and still drying her hair, Kimberly found the woman hunched over beneath the front hood of the Lincoln and looking over the engine of the eleven-year-old vehicle. Kim briefly caught a glimpse of a butt-crack before Theresa lifted her jeans back up to cover the exposed area. "How's it coming along, kiddo?" She smiled as she addressed her by the same nickname that she once gave Meagan Tully, a member of her team that they had given up searching for after a month, along with Lisa.

Theresa looked to Kim with a face covered in grime, bringing out her bright blue eyes even more. "It's comin' along nicely, Kim. Engine's still good. I think the only thing it needs is a new muffler. Other than that, we're good to go." She closed the hood, revealing the freshly painted Ghostbusters logo on it. Others logos were painted along the passenger and driver side doors, blending in well with the white-coated structure of the vehicle. Kim nodded and smiled in approval of Theresa's work; she doubted if her team would've lasted any longer in that world without her.

"Please tell me you are not wearin' that."

The nasally monotone voice of Janine Melnitz directed Kim's attention over to her desk as she looked upon her in disgust. "What?" Kim grinned and spun around as if modeling the robe. "I believe it suits me rather well." The truth in the matter was that the robe looked a bit oversized on her, showing the obvious difference in body type between her and her counterpart. Of course, Kim saw the disapproving glare Janine gave her and said, "Fine. I'll just take it off then."

Kim was about to undo the robe, knowing full well that she was completely naked underneath; the only thing that prevented her from doing so was a different voice that spoke up and said, "Excuse me." All eyes turned towards the door as a tall, beautiful thirty-something brunette walked in wearing an impressive gray flannel dress beneath a coat that matched and black high heels. "I was hoping Peter Venkman would be here," she told the three women in the room.

Upon hearing the woman's voice, Janine stood up and – for the first time since Kim and her team met her – smiled. "Dana! Hi!"

Dana Barrett stepped further into the firehouse and approached Janine's desk, giving her a warm hug. "Janine, it's so nice to see you again. How have you been?"

Janine rolled her eyes and sighed. "I've been better, and I've been worse."

"The boys _still_ haven't come back?" Dana inquired.

"Apparently not." Janine answered in frustration. "They left me to deal with _this_ ingrate." She gestured to Kim, who Dana noticed upon entering.

"You must be Kimberly." Dana said with a smile. "I heard about you and the others on the television. They say you're temporarily replacing the Ghostbusters while they're away on investigation."

Kim nodded. "Yep. We're not entirely sure _when_ they'll be back, but they'll be back regardless." She wasn't completely certain about the truth in her words. It had been three months since both their arrival _and_ the Ghostbusters' disappearance from that world and not even Sean had any idea how to get either of them back to their respective realms.

Dana seemed to understand the reasoning for the original Ghostbusters' absence, although she was visibly distraught over it. "Well, I…I hope that they return soon. Peter and I…well…we thought about taking our relationship further before he left town." She then appeared to become very defensive. "I just…I just don't understand why he would leave without telling _me_."

Kim felt bad for her; it was clear from her attitude that she deeply loved Peter Venkman, just as much as Jonathan Barrett loved Kim herself. Her situation made Kim think about Jonathan and how _he_ was taking _her_ absence in the other world – and, for that reason, she knew she had to do something to make Dana feel better about it all. "Uh, hey…listen…Doctor Venkman _did_ want me to look out for you while he was gone."

Dana's eyes lit up on this. "Did he really? Well, why wasn't I told about this?"

"Apparently, I'm not the 'ingrate' here." Kim shot Janine a look as she made that comment, and Janine shook her head, clearly seeing through the ruse. Returning her focus on Dana, Kim added, "I'm sorry, Dana. Things have been so hectic around here with Doctor Venkman and the other Ghostbusters gone that we overlooked that specific part of his instructions."

Dana smiled and nodded understandingly. "Well, it's kind of him to keep my best interests at heart." She then frowned a little. "But it doesn't excuse him for not informing me of his business trip before leaving like he did."

Kim acted fast before she lost Dana again. "I'll tell ya what. Let me get dressed and we'll talk about it more in private. I'm sure we can reason this all out before Dr. V ends up in the doghouse."

Dana chuckled over Kim's levity, which reminded her a little of Peter. She nodded in agreement with Kimberly's idea, allowing Kim to go back upstairs to get dressed. As soon as she was gone, Dana looked back to Janine. "She's an interesting woman. You can see how much influence Peter has on her. Wonder where he found such a character."

Janine gently bit her lower lip, fighting the urge to tell the truth about Kim and the other "Replacements" to keep Dana from getting hurt by Kim; however, she couldn't muster the courage, fearing worse circumstances to come even from telling the truth. Instead, Janine shrugged and said, "It's a mystery, even to me." But even that answer drew _more_ curiosity from Dana with the strange look she had given Janine.

_God, I suck at keeping secrets_, Janine maddeningly thought.

* * *

"I know I shouldn't be eating this when I'm on my diet, but I just couldn't pass off on it." Dana said before taking a bite out of the hot dog Kim had treated her to from a vendor on their way out of the firehouse.

Kim swallowed the piece she had chewed for a minute before she said, "Don't sweat it. If there's one rule with women, it's that we don't _always_ stay true to our word. _I Love Lucy_ taught me that."

Dana chuckled. "You are a real riot, you know. So much like Peter." Uttering the name of the man she loved brought her back to the somber mood she was in earlier at the firehouse. "So _why_ didn't he tell me he was leaving town?"

Kimberly figured the hot dogs and bad jokes would've taken Dana's mind off of Peter Venkman, but she knew it was only a matter of time when the subject of her male counterpart would rear its ugly head back in. She did her best to cover Peter's tracks; if she shared the same mind as him, then he would tell her the exact thing she told Dana that second: "It was a 'spur of the moment' type of thing. Doctor Venkman actually told me, before he left, that this business comes with unexpected surprises…and consequences."

Dana nodded understandingly. "_I_ could've told you that myself."

"But he _did_ think about you – I saw it in his eyes."

Dana smiled, much to Kim's immediate relief. She bought the lie – or at least she figured it on being a lie. For all Kim knew, Peter Venkman _was_ mentally communicating with her, feeding her the right words for this conversation. In her years of studying psychology, she wondered of the possibilities of telepathic communication between two people who shared the same mental thought; yet she dismissed it as implausibility. However, after years of fighting demigods and supernatural forces of both the Underworld and the Seventh Circle, she might as well mark that implausibility as plausible.

"Would I be intruding if I were to ask you to come with me to my old apartment?" Dana suddenly asked. "I know you're probably busy with covering for Doctor Venkman and the others, but I…I just want to show you something important…something that still haunts me after the Gozer incident from a few months ago."

Kim saw the pleading look in her eyes; there was genuine anxiety behind them as if she had just waked up from a horrible nightmare. There was no way she could turn away from such a look. "Sure," she answered. "I can help you with _anything_."

* * *

A short taxicab ride later, Kim and Dana arrived at what used to be the apartment complex of Dana Barrett. The cab driver could only let the two women out a block away from the restricted street corner in front of the building. Caution tape and construction barricades blocked access to a spot that looked like an atomic bomb had landed there. Parts of the street were ripped open – some torn upwards and some torn downwards – and parts of the building's structure had broken off. There were even globs of marshmallow that still covered on both the street corner and building. It was a site of pure devastation and a horrible reminder for Dana.

But Dana's focus wasn't much on ground level; it was more towards the peak of her former home – the rooftop where the Ghostbusters fought Gozer…and saved both Dana and her neighbor, Louis Tully. "I can still hear…_voices_…calling to me from that rooftop. I don't know if it's Gozer, Zuul, or some other entity present that night it all happened…but _something_ is calling to me once every month."

"You mean like a voice in your head?" Kim curiously questioned.

Dana shut her eyes, turning away from the building and shaking her head. "I don't even _live_ there anymore, and I'm _still_ haunted from the experience."

Kim felt a great deal of pity for her. "What you went through here gives good reason for that type of trauma, Dana."

"It's _not_ trauma, dammit!" Dana snapped in frustration. "I _heard_ a voice call out to me when I'm asleep, when I'm awake, when I'm in the shower, when I'm at the market…It's probably even _watching_ me and I don't even know it!" Her frustration didn't wane as she opened her eyes and faced Kim again. "God, you _really_ are like him – in both the good and _bad_ ways. When we first met – when he and the others were investigating my problem with Zuul – he didn't believe me either."

"It's not that I don't believe you. I just…I'm just trying to make sense out of all this, you know. Maybe there's some type of psychic link you have to this building. You _were_ possessed, right?"

Dana nodded. "Yes, I was."

"Then that has to explain your current phenomenon. Maybe this link you still have to the other world – the world Gozer hails from – is some type of message…a warning, perhaps."

Dana's face registered confusion and curiosity. "A warning? For what?"

Kimberly came up with that last hypothesis more for herself than for Dana. She recalled one particular warning given to her and the other Ghostbusters by Allha, the minion of Gozer who once possessed Meagan Tully and foretold of Gozer's return (albeit in a cryptic message to them after their journey to the Seventh Circle). With her team's arrival in the parallel world, Dana's reveal of her situation with the "voice" in her mind, and even the yet-to-be-explained reason for why Meagan or Lisa didn't emerge with them in the other world, Kim couldn't deny there was some connection to Gozer in all of this – and not Chernabog as Diana _wrongly _deduced. _I wouldn't expect __her__ to know for sure, since she's only held a PhD for a few measly months_, Kim scornfully thought.

With this new lead in their investigation on their mysterious arrival between realms, it was time she and _her_ Ghostbusters team looked into Dana Barrett's new case.


	7. The Big One

**Chapter Seven: The Big One**

**Dimension A**

It was karaoke night again at Hoots and, for the seventeenth time in the four years he had been living as a resident of "Dimension A" (as Egon called it), Peter decided to treat everyone to an evening of karaoke. The only ones who normally came with him to the restaurant were Alex, CeCe, Rocky, Phineas, Ferb, Winston, and Chloe, the secretary who was hired after the departure of Christina Melnitz. The ones who usually stayed behind at the firehouse were Ray and Egon, who were still tinkering with the bizarre new Proton Pack model that Ray inherited from a source that he remained confidential on.

Peter felt it was necessary to get everyone away from all the stress of work and life. He was grateful of how well everyone moved past of the absence of the original Ghostbusters team, who were dead as far as the people of New York were concerned. Peter didn't want to put that possibility in the minds of the kids to keep their hopes alive that Kimberly Venkman and her crew would return one day; but he, Egon, Ray, and Winston knew the chances of their return were slim after they closed the portal.

Their seventeenth karaoke night turned out to be their best one yet. Phineas and Ferb began the fun by singing their personal favorite, "Gitchee Gitchee Goo," which most of everyone in the restaurant sang along with. Alex then followed the boys with her rendition of Pilot's "Magic," and CeCe and Rocky with a song they came up with recently called "TTYLXOX." Peter and Winston admitted that, with the exception of Alex's version of "Magic," they had never heard these songs before; despite that, the kids sounded really good.

After CeCe and Rocky were finished with their song, Peter then took to the karaoke stage and instantly received applause from the crowd of patrons, who recognized him as the new chairman of the Ghostbusters business. "Thank you. Thank you. You're too kind. Uh, this is my seventeenth night here in this fine establishment. The talented kids you saw up before me…" There was another round of applause in the midst of Peter's speech. "Yeah, yeah. Give it up for 'em. Talented kids, they are. But, uh, they told me about this place four years ago and the karaoke that goes on here; and, ever since, I've wanted to sing one song that an old longue singer taught me. Here it goes…"

The speakers around the stage soon played the theme from _Star Wars_, much to the crowd's amusement. Peter then began to sing actual lyrics to the otherwise lyric-less melody: "_Ah, Star Wars! Nothin' but Star Wars! Give me the Star Wars! Don't let them end! Ah, Star Wars! If they should bar wars, please let __these__ Star Wars…stay! And, hey, how 'bout that nutty Star Wars bar? Can you forget all the creatures in there? And, hey, Darth Vader in that black and evil mask! Did he scare you as much as he scared me?_" He then took it home with one last "Star Wars" note, holding it long enough for the crowd to enter with roaring applause.

"Thank you, New York! You're a marvelous audience! Good night!" Peter concluded before he left the stage and rejoined with his fellow Ghostbusters, who applauded for him as well.

CeCe was the first to voice her admiration on Peter's choice of song. "That was epic, Dr. V!"

"I owe it to Nick the Longue Singer." Peter remarked. "May he rest in peace."

"He's dead?" Winston uttered in surprise.

"The hell if I know. Only met him once." Peter admitted.

Shaking his head from Peter's remark, Winston afterwards turned to Chloe. "Hey, Chloe. You gonna sing tonight?"

Chloe, who had been texting on her phone the entire night, nonchalantly answered, "Oh, maybe after a few more shots of tequila, Winston. I don't get in front of a crowd of strangers and do karaoke unless I'm totally wasted and horny as hell."

Chloe's answer was met with obvious bewilderment and shock from Winston, who could only say in response, "O…kay."

She then grew ecstatic upon receiving an epiphany. "Ooh! I got it! You and I can sing together! We'll pick Stevie Wonder's 'Ebony and Ivory' as our karaoke song!"

All Winston could do was nod and smile over her idea, which he couldn't tell was racist or not.

As the group began to settle down after three rounds of karaoke, someone had quickly approached their table. At first, Peter thought it was another fan coming to ask for his or Winston's autographs, which wouldn't seem so bad since they expected all the attention from the moment they entered the restaurant. However, much to his immediate disappointment, the approaching figure turned out to be an overexcited Ray.

"Man, am I glad you guys are still here!" He exclaimed while standing at their table with his unzipped flight suit on. "We just got a call at headquarters minutes ago about _massive_ seismic activity in the Central Park area."

"Central Park?" Phineas said with confusion that matched with everyone else's. "That's just a few blocks from here."

"Yeah, we didn't feel any 'massive seismic activity' here." Alex added.

Ray laughed over their confusion. "And that's the real beauty of it! Only those _within_ the park felt the quake! We got calls from a few dozen scared citizens saying that the entire Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir has been drained and there's only a huge sinkhole there right now! Spengler's already there – we have to join 'im!"

The others weren't as enthusiastic as Ray was over the newest supernatural discovery, which he normally categorized as being "The Big One," because of the magnitude of the depicted incident. It had been a while since the team got a "Big One," hence the reason behind Ray Stantz's childlike excitement. After a long and loud moan of exasperation, Peter stood up from the table and said, "Alright, team. Let's get this over with."

"I guess karaoke night's officially over." Rocky stated.

Ray appeared surprised. "You guys didn't tell me you were doing karaoke. I had a list of classic blues songs I could've sung."

"Thank God for small favors then," said Winston.

As everyone got up from the table, Chloe remained seated and started to panic. "Wait a minute! I still have a song to do, dammit! Winston! What about Ebony and Ivory?"

"Tell them to take a rain check." Winston uttered while on his way out of the restaurant with the other Ghostbusters, passing by patrons who bothered for an autograph.

Alone at the table, Chloe felt greatly disappointed – until she decided to call someone she labeled as "Van Der Beek" on her list of contacts. _He'd better not suggest Paula Cole or I'm kickin' his ass_, she thought upon speed-dialing.

* * *

A massive crowd of New Yorkers had gathered in Central Park around what used to be the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. A police barricade was set up to allow space for the Ghostbusters to work and to keep a safe distance between the crowd and the remarkably ginormous sinkhole. Egon Spengler was crouched near the edge of the sinkhole, scanning it with the P.K.E. meter that once belonged to his counterpart of that world, Sean Spengler. Sean's version proved to be more efficient, giving Egon readings that _his_ meter would not have been able to pick up on, due to the overwhelming nature of them. It was proof that the Ghostbusters of that world (or the "Disney Ghostbusters" as Peter called them) had dealt with threats in the past that were greater than any Peter, Egon, Winston, and Ray ever had.

When Egon heard the familiar wail of the Ectomobile approaching, he pocketed the P.K.E. and turned just in time to see the company vehicle pull up and park right behind the crowd of onlookers. Ray knew it was a huge mistake parking behind them because, as soon as the group exited the vehicle, they were immediately bombarded by their "fans," each one asking for an autograph. Peter, Ray, and Winston signed a few while CeCe and Rocky merely stood by, a little jealous that their mentors were getting all the attention and not them.

After the abrupt autograph session, the group finally pushed their way through the crowd and barricade, joining Egon by the sinkhole. From the way Ray had described it, Winston and the others didn't think it was all that big of a deal. However, upon taking a first look at it, Winston had to let out an enthusiastic whistle and say, "Now _that_ is a big hole."

Peter almost halfway uttered a "That's what she said" line, but held off on it because of the kids with them.

"I told ya, didn't I?" Ray proudly said. "This _really_ is the 'Big One!'"

"So what've we got here, Egon?" Peter inquired.

"Remarkable readings, Venkman," replied the more-stoic-than-usual Egon. "The most massive I've ever come across in years. According to Sean Spengler's P.K.E., this sinkhole is radiating with enough psycho kinetic energy to plague the entire planet in less than a week."

CeCe tried to find the positive or the negative in Egon's discovery. "And that's…bad…right?"

"Actually, I'm uncertain of its nature at the moment." Egon admitted. "The P.K.E. can only read so deep." He then eyed each Ghostbuster in front of him cautiously and added, "Somebody's going to have to go down there."

"Yep," said an excited Ray, "somebody's gonna have to go down there." And, as soon as he echoed Egon's words, he quickly noticed how all eyes were focused on him; clearly, _he_ was going to be the one to go down the sinkhole. "Oh, boy."

Seeing how terrified Ray was in being the odd man out, Rocky impulsively said, "Don't worry, Dr. Stantz. CeCe and I will go down there with you."

CeCe's eyes nearly jumped out of her head, glaring over to Rocky. "Say _what_?"

Even Rocky herself wasn't sure why she volunteered for the two of them so abruptly like that, putting on a forced (and nerve-wracking) smile in front of her superiors.

* * *

Ray, CeCe, and Rocky were snapped into a harness and lowered into the sinkhole on a strong cable attached to a winch loaned to them by the city's construction workers. Each of them wore hardhats with chinstraps and flashlights, also supplied by the construction team. They maintained radio contact with the others through walkie-talkies strapped to their waists. Ray called out orders to Winston and Egon particularly, since they were the ones operating the winch, as they descended.

Rocky was full of fear on the way down, her hands gripping the cable and unintentionally shaking it along with herself. Noticing the way Rocky had her eyes closed, CeCe reminded her, "You know that you can't _see_ anything below us, right?"

Her eyes still shut tight, Rocky replied, "Yeah, I know. I just can't stop my brain from thinking that I'm rock-climbing right now."

"Opening your eyes just might help," suggested Ray, who also took notice in Rocky's nervousness.

"But if I open them, I know I won't be able to _close_ them again." Rocky said.

CeCe silently groaned. "Trust us, Rocky. There ain't much to see around us."

Giving in to the advice of both her best friend and superior, Rocky opened her eyes. With the exception of the lit faces of CeCe and Ray, she only saw darkness in front of her and beneath her. She laughed and joyously said, "Wow! You guys were right!" Her exclamation echoed throughout the sinkhole.

"Is everything alright down there?" Winston asked over the walkie-talkie, obviously hearing Rocky's screams of joy.

"Yeah, everything's cool." CeCe answered. "Rocky just discovered the perfect cure for a fear of heights, that's all."

"It's _not_ a fear of heights; it's a fear of _falling_." Rocky corrected.

"A fear of falling from heights." CeCe jested.

The two girls bickered back and forth, driving Ray mad. "Girls! Girls! It's going to be a _long_ way down. Would you focus for at least until we find whatever drained the reservoir?"

Not wanting to disobey their superior, CeCe and Rocky agreed not to say another word on their way down. Half an hour into the descent, it appeared that Ray was right – it _was_ a "long" way down the sinkhole…_too_ long for CeCe and Rocky. After thirty minutes had passed, CeCe and Rocky decided to sing the same song they performed back at Hoots. Ray tried not to seem bothered by it, dismissing the behavior as being a sign of boredom. Frankly, Ray had become a little bored himself.

A full hour had passed into the descent and Ray himself decided make use of the time in singing one of the blues songs that he hadn't gotten the chance of singing at the karaoke. His rendition of "Sweet Home Chicago" sounded pretty catchy to CeCe and Rocky. "Where did you learn to sing like that, Dr. Stantz?" CeCe asked with genuine interest.

"Well, I was a fan of B.B. King, Ray Charles…a lot of guys you girls are too young to know about." Ray answered, happy to be finally sharing his love of soul with someone for once.

Rocky shook her head at the names Ray referenced. "Haven't heard of those guys, but we have heard of the Blues Brothers."

Ray grimaced in confusion over the name. "The who?"

Just when it seemed like there was time available in a discussion on who the "Blues Brothers" were, the trio stopped and took notice in an eerie yellow light glowing beneath them. Looking down, they saw that they were descending into an illuminated cavern. "Where's that light coming from?" CeCe wondered aloud.

Ray immediately contacted the others, alerting them of their discovery. "Guys, come in. We're breaking through. See some light." Entering the cavern, Ray began to see how immense it was. "We're in some type of cave. Judging from the heat, we're probably close to the…"

"_SLIME!_" Rocky suddenly yelled out in excitement. Looking to where her eyes were directed in the cavern, Ray and CeCe saw the source of the strange light within the immense cavern: **large quantities of bubbling, seething, and glowing yellow slime that flowed in rivers and waterfalls and gathered in lakes**. The sight was unbelievable to Ray, CeCe, and Rocky.

"Oh, my god!" Ray muttered unknowingly into his radio.

"What? What is it?" Egon said over the radio. "What do you see, Ray?"

"Just like Rocky said – slime. Rivers, waterfalls, and lakes of…slime."

"Where is it all coming from?" CeCe questioned.

"Why is it all yellow?" Rocky queried.

Ray shrugged and shook his head; he didn't have a proper answer to ease their confusion. Soon he realized that they were being lowered right into one of the lakes and quickly shouted into his radio, "Whoa! Whoa! That's good, fellas! That's good! Hold it there! Hold it there!" Winston and Egon acknowledged the order and Ray, CeCe, and Rocky came to a stop at just a few feet above the lake. Turning to the girls, he instructed, "Alright. We're gonna climb the rest of the way down, girls. Get a good grip on the wall."

Doing as they were instructed, CeCe and Rocky gripped on the rocky wall along with Ray. The three unfastened themselves from their harnesses and climbed down to the ground, barely touching the shoreline of the lake of slime they were nearly lowered into. As soon as their feet touched the solid ground, they could not stop staring upon the massive cavern around them. Ray wished that he had a camera to take photos of it all; fortunately, CeCe and Rocky were way ahead of him, snapping away with their camera phones. Ray shook his head and smiled at them. _Four years I've been in this world, and I easily forget how advanced the technology is_, he thought with amusement.

Once CeCe and Rocky were finished taking their photos, Ray removed a duffel bag that he brought with him on their excavation from his body and reached inside of it, retrieving three sampling tools of the same design. He handed two of them to CeCe and Rocky. "Go around and collect whatever sample of this slime you can. It can be only from the lakes or rivers – don't go anywhere near the waterfall."

CeCe and Rocky obliged and went right to work. There was plenty of ground for the three of them to move about. Ray went to a nearby river to gather his sample, while Rocky went to a lake for hers. CeCe opted for another lake to gather her sample; however, once she approached it, she noticed an entranceway into another part of the cavern. Without notifying Ray or Rocky of it first, CeCe went through the entranceway. What she first noticed of the long, rocky corridor was how the walls were oozing with the yellow slime, providing very little light in the otherwise pitch-black area. CeCe let the flashlight from her hardhat light her way through the rest of the mystery.

Just when she had a chance to turn back, she uncovered yet another massive cavern. This one contained purely waterfalls of the yellow slime, all gathering into one large lake to one side of the cavern. Apathetic over discovering just another huge cavern full of slime, CeCe went to the shore of the lake and used the tool Ray gave her to gather a sample. She pulled the trigger on it, shooting out a long, telescoping fishing pole with a scoop on the end. Reaching down, she scooped up a sample of the yellow slime and started retracting the pole.

Suddenly, CeCe heard a garish, ominous humming noise emitting from the slime. She stepped back from the lake in panic, thinking that she set off some type of alarm. The lake itself began to bubble and boil, steam rising from its surface. Something enormous then rose from the lake of slime. A pair of large horns were the first thing CeCe saw rising through the surface, followed by an ugly and scary-looking face with yellow glowing eyes, a pair of giant wings, and finally gigantic and slender yet muscular arms and torso. CeCe stared up at the risen form of a giant winged demon and all she could do in light of its sudden appearance was to snap a photo of it.

The action proved to be her undoing when the demon reacted to the flash from the phone's camera negatively. It roared at CeCe in anger, shaking the entire cavern. She immediately ran away, moving down the corridor, which also suffered from the quake that resonated from the demon's powerful roar. Arriving within the first cavern, she reunited with Ray and CeCe, who were both puzzled from the sudden event.

"What's going on?" Rocky asked before she realized _who_ she was talking to. "What did you do, CeCe?"

"Nothing! I did nothing! I'm innocent!" CeCe exclaimed, but her guilt had shown with her fear over the quake that came over the cavern.

"What's goin' on down there?" Winston yelled over the radio. "The whole damn city is going nuts up here from this earthquake!"

Ray noticed chunks of rock falling from above, splashing into the lakes and rivers of yellow slime. "We need to get outta here _now_!" He, CeCe, and Rocky climbed up the same wall that they had climbed down on, fighting against the quake as it tried to knock them off. Once they were strapped back into their harnesses, Ray gave the order for Winston and Egon to pull them back up. The three were instantly yanked out of the cavern and, as they had exited, the quaking ceased.


	8. Seraphim

**Chapter Eight: Seraphim**

**Dimension B**

Diana felt like she had been watching a network dedicated to airing reruns of old television programs while watching the TV on the first floor of the firehouse near the garage; but the truth was that the episode of _The A-Team_ she watched that evening was airing for the first time ever. It felt weird to her whenever there was a commercial break and commercials that she hadn't seen in twenty-five years show up on the analog television set. There was an old _Burger King_ commercial featuring Elisabeth Shue with the typical comparisons between their burgers and ones from _McDonald's_ and _Wendy's_ and with the typical jingle asking "Aren't you hungry for Burger King now?"

Truthfully, the nostalgia of the commercial _did_ make Diana a little hungry. Checking her wristwatch, she saw that it was nine on the dot – dinnertime. She looked to her right at Theresa, who sat across from her on the couch and read a "new" copy of a _Time_ magazine with Ronald Reagan on the cover. "Hey, Theresa, thinking of stepping out to pick something up. Want anything?"

Theresa shook her head with a smile. "No thanks. I'm good."

Diana had to admire Theresa's endurance. The young woman had spent hours working her fingers to the bone on the Lincoln, tuning it to perfection to suit the team's needs in transportation. Not once did she see her take a break, sweat, or show any signs of fatigue or exhaustion. Even though Diana didn't entirely agree on her hiring by Kimberly, she admitted that they nabbed a real fighter on their team; unfortunately, it wasn't actually _their_ team that she was on. At least when Peter Venkman and _his_ team of Ghostbusters returned to their world, they would welcome such a dedicated member with open arms.

Diana got up from the couch and walked over to the staircase leading to the second floor. She felt surprisingly comfortable in her 1984 clothes – tight blue jeans, black-and-white sneakers, and a dark gray turtle neck sweater with the sleeves rolled up; even her long brown hair was done in a style that suited the era. She felt like a teen again, despite being in her mid-forties. The others had their own styles as well – Sean and J.G. went with what Kim called the "Cosby Look" (sweater vests, pressed khakis, and dress shoes) while Kim herself focused on more of a punk look, being one hair dye and frizz away from completing the ensemble. Janine thought they all looked ridiculous, yet Kim shot down criticism from a woman whose glasses were the loudest thing on her.

"Hey, boys!" Diana shouted up the staircase to Sean and J.G., both lost in the work of their counterparts within the lab on the second floor. "Heading out for a bite! Either of you want anything?"

"No, thank you." Sean answered.

"We're good, Dye. Thanks." J.G. confirmed.

Looking away from the staircase, Diana focused lastly on Janine, who answered her before she could have asked anything. "I'll take a Double Whopper – no cheese, hold the mayo – large fries, and a diet coke."

Diana nodded, accepting her order as if she were the cashier at the restaurant itself. She headed for the front door, grabbing her navy blue long coat on her way out. However, just as she was about to open the front door, it suddenly snapped open by itself and Kimberly rushed right inside. When she saw Diana standing in front of her, coat in hand and stomach growling, she immediately said, "Oh, Dye. Glad you're sort of ready to go. I'm gonna need you, Theresa, and the guys to go with me _right now_."

She rushed right by a surprised and confused Diana, who watched her as she went up to the lockers nearby those of the "Original Ghostbusters" and opened the one with an abbreviation of her first name labeled on it, pulling out her suit and putting it on. "What? Wait. Kim, where have you been for the past hours?"

"With that woman that showed up here earlier." Kim answered. "The one that looks like Ellen Ripley."

"Her name's Dana Barrett." Janine stated, mostly for the benefit of the baffled Diana, who somewhat recognized the name.

"Barrett?" Diana uttered. "As in _Jonathan_ Barrett?"

Kimberly sighed; she had been found out. "Yes. She's J.B.'s counterpart, alright? No big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal, Kim." Diana retorted. "We agreed on our first day in this world that we wouldn't get ourselves involved in the lives of our equivalents any more than we already have." She gestured to her suit and added, "Now you've accepted the case of someone only _your_ counterpart is fluent with?"

"What the hell was I supposed to do?" Kim defensively questioned. "She needs help – the Ghostbusters' help – and since the Ghostbusters of this world _aren't_ here, that means _we're_ the only reasonable help she can get."

The voices between the two women had risen loud enough for everyone on that floor and the second floor of the firehouse to hear. Sean and J.G. headed downstairs into the room as soon as they heard the commotion. "What's going on?" J.G. was the first to ask.

"Kim volunteered us all for a job handled previously by our equivalents." Diana informed.

"Really?" J.G. remarked, sounding interested.

Diana frowned from his reaction. "Jay!"

"What?" He uttered. "We could use a little change from all the usual callings we've gotten since we came here. I've been itchin' for a Class Five for months now."

Kimberly smiled. "Well, I don't know about a Class Five, but what Dana described to me earlier is right up our alley either way."

"What problem is she having?" Sean inquired.

"One that might explain how we got here in the first place." Kim answered. "She told me about voices that she had been hearing from the rooftop of her old apartment – the same place where our equivalents fought Gozer in _this_ world. She described the voices as a warning…to us."

"Why would her voices warn her about us?" Diana asked, trying to make sense out of the whole crazy story that Kimberly had been feeding to them.

"I'm thinking our reason for being here has more to do with Gozer than Chernabog." Kim deduced. "Think about it. Our old demon doggie friend Allha _did_ say that she – or he – had some unfinished business with us. And, above everything else, Meagan has been missing for _months _now. Put two and two together, guys. The Goze is somehow involved in all of this just as much as Chernie is. We're either dealing with another tag team like Maleficent and Ursula…or yet _another_ ghost war like Shen Yu and H.K."

It was deathly quiet in the room after Kimberly announced her suspicions, which sounded a little logical to Sean and J.G. Diana, on the other hand, was divided in her thoughts; on one hand, Kim made rational sense, yet – on the other hand – she just could've been _way_ off. To Diana, Kim had already taken a huge gamble with Dana Barrett. _A voice in a head isn't enough to go chasing after shadows of a past we barely know much about – regardless of how close in resemblance it is to ours_, Diana thought.

She finally made her stay on the matter when she said, "I'm outta here."

Seeing her turn to the front door, Kim let out an exasperated sigh. "And where are _you_ going?"

"To the only sensible place I _can_ go in this world – Burger King."

"Alright. Well, have it _your_ way then."

Diana mocked a laugh. "Yeah, Kim. That joke would be _so_ much funnier if it _weren't_ 1984." She then departed the firehouse, slamming the door behind her.

With Diana out, Kimberly could only rely on the two men she knew she could count on. Turning to Sean and J.G., she said with a pitiful expression on her face, "Please tell me you boys are still with me on this."

J.G. shared a thoughtful glance with Sean. "Well, Kim," he said, "it's quite a lot to go on with such evidence as subtle as a voice in someone's head, but…uh…we're with you all the way."

She smiled, almost on the verge of tears from gratitude of their help. With all the stress that had been going on between her and Diana over the past months, it comforted her to know that she could still count on her two best friends since college. But she held back the tears in order to maintain her usual smart-ass self. "Thanks, guys. It was gonna be either you two or Janine, but I'm not _that_ desperate." She heard the secretary scoff at her from her desk, acknowledging the zinger as a sign of irony.

"You can't go to Barrett's apartment." They heard Theresa speak up for the first time since Kim arrived, glancing over in the direction she spoke from to see her standing away from the couch and staring at them ardently. "Not without me."

Alerted of her presence, Kim felt embarrassed and even a bit shocked to know they had been discussing such a confidential subject near her. She briefly glared over at Janine, who practically failed in letting her know Theresa was there the whole time. "Oh, god. Theresa, I know this has got to be some weird shit to you, but there's a perfectly good explanation for—"

"It's O.K., Doctor Venkman." Theresa said. "I haven't been completely honest with _you_ either."

Kim, J.G., Sean, and even Janine were taken by surprise from how Theresa addressed Kim as "Doctor Venkman." It was a secret that everyone there had kept tight-lipped on ever since Theresa was first hired as a Ghostbuster. Undeniably baffled, Kim kept her focus centered on the young woman as she asked, "How do you know who I _really_ am?"

"Because I've been tasked with watching over you and Doctors Stantz, Spengler, and Zeddemore ever since _you_ four took down Gozer in _your_ world." Theresa answered.

"Tasked?" J.G. uttered. "Tasked by whom?"

"Zeus." Theresa confirmed.

J.G.'s eyes widened. "The Father of the Gods?"

"Well, mostly father of Hercules." Theresa corrected. "Contrary to popular belief, Disney _did_ get it right."

"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" Kim shouted.

"No, they _really_ did." Theresa remarked, failing to understand the context of Kimberly's exclamation.

"You mean to tell us that you're some kind of messenger of Zeus?" Kim inquired.

Theresa grinned. "Oh, I'm _so_ much more than that, Doctor Venkman. You were right about Gozer being involved in your transference to this world. She brought you all here as bait."

"You mean like a trap?" Sean inferred.

Theresa confirmed this with a nod. "The voices in Dana Barrett's head are meant to lure you back into the remains of the temple where this world's Ghostbusters fought her. From there, you would've been eviscerated by Gorin."

Kim's face scrunched upon hearing the bizarre name – if it even _was_ a name. "Gorin? You mean that lizard thing from _Star Trek_?"

"That's the Gorn you're thinking of, Kim." J.G. corrected. "Gorin is Chernabog's personal executor…and son." He then looked suspiciously at Theresa and added, "But it's been believed for centuries that Gorin's existence was a myth just like his sister and Chernabog's daughter, Seraphim."

Theresa let out an amused chuckle. "Well, allow me to briefly play _Myth_buster, Doctor Stantz. The children of Chernabog are in fact _not_ myths."

"And how are you certain of that?" Sean asked.

Theresa stood there for a moment, appearing to be hesitant of how to explain her proof. However, after some hesitation, she began to unzip her Ghostbuster uniform and remove the top half of it from her body, exposing the black t-shirt she wore underneath it. Shutting her eyes tight, she focused very hard until her face registered extreme pain. She moaned loudly while the sound of her bones snapping echoed throughout the room. The group stood shocked by seeing what was happening to her. When she fell to her knees, they were uncertain of whether they should help her or not, but she managed to protest by holding out one hand in front of them.

The muscles on the upper half of her back – particularly around her shoulder blades – twitched and buckled beneath the blackness of her shirt. They then expanded to the point where they tore through the fabric of her shirt, revealing large discolored bumps that looked like huge fleshy mountains on her back. The skin on both bumps then tore open. Muscle tissue was exposed and then torn open as well, making way for something black and inhuman emerging out of Theresa's body. The faces of Kim, J.G., Sean, and Janine all expressed horror once they realized what had sprouted from Theresa's back…

Wings. Long, slender black wings that resembled that of a gargoyle. They were caked with blood – Theresa's blood – after being hidden beneath Theresa's flesh for an unspecified length of time. She stretched them out like an extra pair of arms while the blood on them dripped to the floor.

"Dear God." Janine whispered upon witnessing the sight that was _beyond_ supernatural.

Recovering from her painful transformation, Theresa smiled at the three Ghostbusters standing before her in total shock. "I'm certain, Doctor Spengler, because _I'm_ Seraphim…and I want to help you stop my father."


	9. Night Creatures Calling

**Chapter Nine: Night Creatures Calling**

Phineas, Ferb, CeCe, and Rocky could not stop staring at the yellow slime contained in the large Tupperware container sitting on the worktable in Egon's lab (formerly the laboratory of Sean Spengler). For the four kids, it was like staring at a lava lamp. The slime bubbled and shifted all on its own inside the transparent container, as if it were making an attempt to escape from its containment. Of course, CeCe and Rocky knew that was impossible, since it was only a liquid and there was nothing solid about it; but, as Phineas explained to them, "Slime has incomprehensible capabilities – sometimes depending upon its color."

"He's right," said Egon, who stood by with Ray as the two Ghostbusters ran various tests on the yellow slime. "According to Sean Spengler's notes, there are at least fifteen different colors of ectoplasm, and only five have been discovered by him and the other Ghostbusters of this world. The most intriguing one being 'pink slime' – slime that has the ability to influence negative emotions."

"He and _my_ counterpart even restructured the slime to influence _positive_ emotion and built it into what they call the 'Slime Blower.'" Ray added while admiring blueprints found in the lab on the piece of ghost-busting equipment. "Boy, I wish we could've thought up these properties first. No telling how much easier the job would've been for us."

"Maybe you still can." CeCe suggested, much to Ray and Egon's confusion. "From where you guys came…from…I mean."

Ray nodded understandingly. "I get what ya mean, kiddo. The only problem is that we still haven't a clue _how_ to get back to where we came from, if there's even the smallest chance of doing so."

"Even if there was, why would we want to leave?" The voice of Peter Venkman spoke near the group as he entered the lab with Winston and Alex. "I mean, we've been here for four years, and there's _still_ a lot I wanna get to know – like what happens next season on _Game of Thrones_."

Shaking his head at Peter, Winston brought his focus on the container full of yellow slime at the worktable. "So how're the tests coming along? Found out anything about our tub of custard here?"

"Other than the fact that it's yellow and slime…nothing much." Ray informed. "But, uh, there's still one test that we haven't tried yet – the touch test."

Peter frowned at the idea. "What…you guys are gonna use it for lubing?"

"We're merely talking of _small_ contact between epidermis and ectoplasm – something as simple as dipping an index finger into it." Egon clarified. "Sean Spengler noted the 'mood slime' as only influencing emotions once it made physical contact with its host. So, perhaps _this_ slime has physical influences as well."

Ray sighed and shrugged. "Only one way to find out." He then reached forward and grabbed the lid, removing it from the container with a loud _snap_. The yellow slime was exposed, still bubbling and shifting in the Tupperware. Its odor quickly seeped out, forcing everyone to briefly turn their heads, cover their mouths and noses with one hand, and wave the other in front of their faces, doing all they could to protect their sinuses from a stench that was reminiscent of fire and brimstone. Ray then looked to everyone and said, "So…who's ready to take a dip?"

Rocky gawked at him in surprise. "Us? This idea is all _you _guys!"

Ray struggled not to look too much of a coward. "Well…yeah…but…uh…Egon and I…we've already…erm…"

Egon saw how badly Ray struggled with an excuse and quickly jumped in, clearing his throat and saying, "We've already ran several tests. The slime might respond differently to someone else this time."

It was by far the lamest of excuses that Peter, Winston, Alex, CeCe, Rocky, Phineas, and Ferb had ever heard, especially coming from two of the smartest people there in the room. Following their excuse, no volunteers stepped up to do the risky task of touching the yellow slime. There was nothing but awkward silence among them as each of them glanced to one another, wondering who would cave in first from the pressure. After some time, they felt like they were engaged in a game of poker.

_RIIIIIIIING!_

The phone ringing downstairs made CeCe, Rocky, and Alex jolt; the three young girls were clearly distraught from all of the intensity settling over the group because of the slime. "This is ridiculous," Alex finally admitted. "It's just like any other slime we've deal with before – pink, blue, red, green…_whatever_! Let's just dump it back where we found it!"

"NO!" CeCe shouted, her sudden outburst coming as a surprise to everyone, specifically Rocky. CeCe quickly changed her demeanor, letting out a phony giggle and saying, "I mean, why go through all that trouble again? Let's just seal this bad boy back up and try again later, O.K.?"

Her odd behavior only made Rocky suspicious. "Alright. What're you hiding?"

CeCe responded by acting confused and still giggling misleadingly. "I'm not hiding anything. I'm just…" She then added rather rapidly under her breath, "not-looking-forward-going-back-into-the-creepy-ca ve-with-the-large-demon-thing."

Rocky failed to catch what her best friend uttered in such a hurried tone. "I'm sorry. What?"

_RIIIIIIIING!_

It was the eighth time that the downstairs phone had rung, frustrating Winston. "Damn! Why isn't Chloe answering that phone? Did she even bother to come to work this morning?" He left the lab and rushed downstairs to discover the absence of Chloe at the secretary desk. Approaching the desk, he found a note left there that simply read, "Bored. I quit." The note was written in rose red lipstick – Chloe's shade – and even smelled of her perfume. Winston shook his head, not the least bit surprised in the abrupt departure of their secretary of four years. She had shown signs of quitting nearly every few months, and Peter somehow managed to keep her on the job a little longer. But it seemed as if this time it would be for good.

_Oh, well, can't win them all_, Winston thought without sorrow. He finally picked the receiver up and answered the caller. "Ghostbusters. How can we help?"

"This is Detective Elisa Maza."

Winston swallowed hard as soon as he heard the word "detective" spoken over the phone. It had been a long time since the Ghostbusters had to deal with the police – the last time was during the Gozer fiasco in _their_ world. In this world, they appeared to be on good standing with the police, especially after saving all life from the malfunctioned Ecto-Relayer. That was why the call from this detective, whose voice sounded heavily attractive to Winston over the phone, came as an unsettling surprise.

"Uh…h-how can we help you, Detective Maza?" He then asked with a hint of suspicion, "Are we in trouble?"

"Oh, no. Not at all." Elisa quickly answered as if detecting the suspicion in Winston's voice. "It's just…" She hesitated for a moment. Winston could hear her struggling to find the right words to say. "Oh, man. This is gonna sound _so_ crazy."

Winston chuckled. "It's O.K., Detective. We excel in crazy."

Elisa gingerly laughed on the other line. "Alright. Here goes. There are some 'friends' of mine that I need you to come and see."

Again, Winston became somewhat concerned and cautious. "By 'friends,' you mean…?"

"Not the police," she (again) answered promptly. "Some _other_ friends of mine."

Her discreetness baffled Winston as he tried to understand her request. "I don't follow you, Detective. Who are these people you want us to meet?"

Elisa sighed much heavier than last time. "Alright. I'll just come out and say it." After a brief pause, she asked, "Have you guys ever dealt with gargoyles before? And please don't laugh."

Winston did not laugh at the question. In fact, he tried to think back on all the calls he and the rest of the team had answered over the four years they had been in that world, as well as the one year they had been Ghostbusters in their own. "None that I can think of, Detective," he sincerely answered while scratching the back of his head.

"Well, then what I have for you guys maybe a first, which might make it best for only _you_ to show up, Mister…?"

"Zeddemore. Winston Zeddemore."

"I know I can trust you on keeping this meeting a secret, can't I, Mister Zeddemore? My friends aren't exactly 'sociable' with people like us."

"Of course, Detective. Where do you want to meet?"

"The 23rd Precinct – you know the clock tower in the Civic Center?"

"Yeah. I've passed by it a few times since we got here."

"I'll meet you at the entrance right before the sun sets later today."

"Why at sunset?"

He could hear Elisa snickering on the other end. "Trust me, Mr. Zeddemore. It'll be worth the wait."

* * *

Knowing it wouldn't be a smart idea to take the Ecto out in order to attend a meeting that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about, Winston took a taxicab over to the 23rd Precinct. When he was questioned by CeCe and Rocky on where he was headed, he only told them that he had a hot date – a cover-up that almost got him a long list of advice from the teenage girls. Luckily, they were both smart enough not to keep his "hot date" waiting and let him depart from the firehouse just as sunset neared. He still could not figure out why Detective Maza wanted him to meet her at such a particular time but reasoned it on the special requirements of her "friends."

Rather than his uniform, Winston went to the meeting in regular clothes (a blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled, blue jeans, and light brown boots). There was no need for him in bringing his Proton Pack along, although he somewhat wished that he did on the thought of dealing with gargoyles. On the way to the precinct, it occurred to him that Maza's "friends" might have actually been the gargoyles that she mentioned in their conversation earlier that day. For his own sake, he had hoped that wasn't the case, and he was merely being as paranoid as Egon.

The cab ride from the firehouse to the 23rd precinct only lasted for nearly fifteen whole minutes. The driver let him out at the front steps of the building that functioned as both a police headquarters and a clock tower. Waiting there for him, amidst the uniformed police officers that passed in and out through the front doors, was a dark-haired woman with brown eyes and dark skin – appearing to be of Native and African American descent. She wore black boots, tight-fitting light blue jeans, and a black shirt beneath a red leather jacket. For Winston, she was almost _too_ attractive to be a police detective, making him believe that she was just a woman probably waiting for a ride home or something of the sort. Of course, that type of perspective lied heavily on Peter, not Winston.

As it turned out, the dark-haired woman in the tight jeans and leather jacket was in fact Winston's contact, Elisa Maza, evident from the way in which she looked directly at him as he exited the taxicab. "You know, it only occurred to me just this moment that _I_ could've given you the ride over here," she said to him in that same attractive voice he heard over the phone, only sounding more so in person.

Astounded by her beauty, Winston almost failed to catch what she had said. "Uh, it's fine. Totally fine."

"Hey, buddy!" The cab driver shouted to Winston, reminding him that he had to pay his cab fee – something else he almost failed to do because of his fascination over the attractive detective.

Once he paid his fee, Winston followed Elisa right into the precinct. It was the first time Winston had ever walked right into a police station without being in handcuffs, something he hoped that he would never have to do again after the situation with Walter Peck and his ridiculous charges against the Ghostbusters during the Gozer fiasco. What made his visit even more welcoming were the many police officers who gave him thanks while passing through, recognizing him as one of the "new" Ghostbusters that arrived a few years ago and saved New York from certain doom.

"Sorry about this," said Elisa, who seemed almost bashful over all the attention Winston had been getting. "Didn't expect the boys to come out with their autograph books."

Winston waved it off with a smile. "Nah. I'm used to it."

Just as the two approached a stairwell that led to the upper levels of the building, another uniformed officer – a black man with a mustache (like Winston) – approached the Ghostbuster and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Zeddemore. I just wanna say that we really appreciate all you guys are doing for this city – protecting us from all the monsters and goblins out there. When I first transferred here, I didn't believe in any of that stuff. But, now, the thought of it all used to terrify the life out of me, until you guys showed up. You're alright in my book, brother."

Winston gave the officer an appreciative nod while Elisa, chuckling over her fellow officer's fandom, brushed him off. "He gets the idea, Morgan. Don't you have some work you gotta get back to?"

"Uh, yeah. Right." Morgan tipped his hat to Winston and walked off.

"Man! You would think the Pope showed up here." Elisa uttered before leading Winston up the stairwell.

The journey to the topmost part of the clock tower was long and encouraged a great deal of energy from Winston. It reminded him of the massive flight of stairs in Dana Barrett's apartment that he and the other Ghostbusters had to go up in order to confront Gozer. Thankfully, unlike that journey, Winston wasn't weighed down by a nuclear accelerator on his back, which made the travel up the tower so much more gratifying.

Elisa and Winston eventually reached a broom closet, in which the section of the tower that housed the large clock's non-functioning machinery could only be accessed through a pull-down service ladder. Reaching the highest section of the clock tower, Winston saw what he could only perceive as a makeshift home for a presumable homeless person or family. There was an old television set and video game system, a hotplate, a laptop computer, many books and videos, an old recliner, and a refrigerator.

"You, uh…_know_ anybody who lives up here?" Winston asked.

"I know what you're thinking," Elisa said, "but just wait. You'll get all your questions answered in a few minutes. Follow me."

Elisa brought Winston out onto on the main balcony that overlooked much of the New York area. The full height of the building came into realization when Winston looked over the edge and saw the long way down. The officers that he had passed at the front entrance now looked like ants to him, and their parked cars – as well as the ones driving through the area – looked like _toy_ cars. However, the most striking feature of the balcony was not the view itself, but the six stoned gargoyles perched upon individual portions of the ledge. Each gargoyle was chiseled with a distinct feature – one was elderly, one was obese, one was small, one had a Pterosaur-like face, one resembled a dog, and one was tall and imposing (Winston guessed he had to be the leader, if these stoned figures were capable of _living_ personality).

Seeing the statues, Winston felt a bit relieved to see that they were not _real_ gargoyles as Elisa led him to believe. "You know, when you asked me if we ever dealt with gargoyles before, I figured you meant _live_ ones." He gestured to the statues and added, "These aren't exactly what I had in mind."

Elisa merely folded her arms and stared off into the sunset, slightly confusing Winston with her gesture. He looked to the sun and saw it slowly vanish into the horizon, transforming day into night. But that wasn't the _only_ transformation that occurred. Before Winston even realized it, the stone gargoyles around him and Elisa began to break apart; they did not shatter to pieces but rather "shed" their rock-hard skin, making way for actual flesh. The gargoyle statues suddenly became the _real_ gargoyles that Elisa referred to and Winston hoped not to have seen. All six of them roared to the heavens – their screams going unnoticed by the people far down below.

Upon witnessing the supernatural transformation over the once-stone gargoyles, Winston found himself backed against the wall while Elisa remained calm, smiling over Winston's shock. "Mr. Zeddemore," she said, "Meet my friends…the Gargoyles."


	10. Face-to-Face

**Chapter Ten: Face-to-Face**

It was uncomfortably silent in the 1973 Lincoln Continental that doubled as an Ectomobile as it drove to the apartment of Dana Barrett. Behind the wheel of the vehicle was Theresa, whose _actual_ name was revealed to be Seraphim – the daughter of Chernabog – just mere moments ago to Kimberly, Sean, and J.G. The three sat silently with her in the Lincoln, clearly speechless over the shocking revelation that their one recruit there in the 1984 version of their world was a human/demon hybrid. What was even more surprising was how she _wanted_ to help them take down her father; that part they weren't too certain how to make out. Her warnings about Gozer and the new threat by the name of "Gorin" sounded almost too suspicious. Of course, there was no denying that they would do virtually anything to stop whatever Gozer or Chernabog have planned.

Fifteen minutes into the car ride, Kimberly noticed Seraphim squirming unpleasantly in the driver's seat. She doubted the cause of the squirming was a numbed butt – the ride wasn't _that_ long. It was her back, particularly her shoulder blades. From the transformation that they witnessed, it was obviously an extremely painful one for her; putting her large demonic wings back under her skin looked even more so. The squirming she did was a definite sign that the pain was still there. No telling how long it had been since she "sprouted" those wings, trying so hard to maintain her human appearance. Even though she was a demigod, there was still a large part of her that was human and still felt pain.

Seraphim didn't have to endure the difficult sitting any longer as the group finally arrived at Dana's apartment, parking the Lincoln directly across from the barricaded entrance. Seeing the caution tape and police barricades upon exiting the car, J.G. became slightly nervous; they were right in the middle of the restricted street corner. "You don't think we might be caught by the police being out here?" He questioned to the others.

Sean smirked. "Think of it this way, Jay: either we end up incarcerated for trespassing or we end up dead at the hands of Gorin."

"Personally…I'd prefer to go to jail." Kim said with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

Noting her nervousness, Seraphim sternly looked to her. "Just trust me, Kim. We're not going in there without a plan. And I _have_ a plan."

"Well, I'd _love_ for you to fill us in on it." Kim remarked.

"No…not yet." Seraphim hurriedly declared. "You'll know what to do when I give the signal."

She proceeded in going to the rear of the Lincoln and strapping on her Proton Pack, while Kim, J.G., and Sean looked to each other in suspicion of Seraphim's "plan," which was the first they ever heard of it – whatever _it_ was. They followed her lead and pulled each of their own packs out, strapping them on. Once the four of them were all set, they entered the apartment. "Let's hope to God they managed to get the elevators working," said Kim before going through the glass doors.

* * *

Lucky for the group, the elevators were in fact operational in Dana Barrett's apartment. They took one as far up as possible and went the rest of the way through a stairwell leading directly to the rooftop. The scene there was eerily familiar to Kim, J.G., and Sean. There was Gozer's temple, looking exactly the way it did in _their_ world before their version was torn apart by Maleficent and Ursula. Its skeletal structure was all that had been left from the '84 Ghostbusters' encounter with the Sumerian god months prior. The rest of it was littered in huge chunks all about the rooftop, scorched and still covered in Stay Puft marshmallow goo. Everything, even the smell of burnt dog hair, brought them back to when _they_ first took down Gozer in 2004. It was a distant memory that they preferred to keep even more distant, and being there – expecting to find a threat just as massively dangerous as Gozer – didn't help things.

"You spoil _all_ the fun, Sister!" A deep, hollowed voice spoke from seemingly out of nowhere, prompting Sean, Kim, and J.G. to detach their Proton Guns from their packs. Seraphim was the only one who kept hers attached.

She frowned in anger. Her piercing blue eyes searched for the speaker, who remained hidden from all the rubble. "Come on out, Gorin!"

After she shouted for her brother with her intense voice echoing through the heavens, all remained quiet once Gorin's name had passed in the echo. Seraphim and the three Ghostbusters were on caution, expecting an ambush of some capacity to come when they least suspected it. Fortunately for them, none came; instead, the sound of heavy footsteps crunching stone filled their ears. A dark, towering figure moved out from behind a bulbous chunk of marshmallow-covered debris. It was eight feet tall with pinkish, translucent skin that resembled muscle tissue and carried a muscular build. The towering figure's face was near skeletal, lacking proper eyeballs – having just flaming sockets instead – a nose, a mouth, or even lips – leaving black, razor-sharp teeth exposed. The scalp was merely his exposed brain with only a bundle of thorns "protecting" it.

This hideous creature was Gorin.

"Jesus," whispered Kim, whose eyes grew wide in revulsion from seeing Gorin in the flesh – if he had any.

Gorin pointed a long, crooked finger at Seraphim. "You are a betrayer to your own kind. Only now you have betrayed these mortals by foolishly bringing them here. You know full well that I will kill them in cold blood."

Seraphim shook her head, confidently grinning. "No, you won't, Brother…not with _me_ standing between you and them."

Gorin viciously snarled with his black saliva oozing through his teeth and dripping to the floor. "And what makes _you_ so important, Sister? As far as I'm concerned, you are just as much of a nuisance to Father as _they_ are!"

"Really?" Seraphim wittingly remarked. "Should I remind you that I'm a _very_ important part of Father's plan? I am his only way of obtaining what he desires. If you kill me, then you fail him _again_, Gorin." She moved around him, stopping just behind him and glancing at his back, where there were large, hideous scars up and down his shoulder blades – the area in which his wings used to be. "You remember when you failed him, don't you? You used to have such pretty little wings before excommunication. I wonder what he might take from you next."

With lightning-quick speed, Gorin spun his entire body around and moved his hideous face in closer to Seraphim's. His breath, a disgusting odor of brimstone and death itself, filled her nostrils. Whereas anyone else would have instinctively vomited from the smell, she remained completely unfazed by it. The entire confrontation made Kim, J.G., and Sean very uneasy – each of them wondering _if _Seraphim's "plan" (whatever it may be) would come into effect. Suddenly, they noticed Seraphim unstrapping her Proton Pack from her back and tossing it aside with a loud metallic _thud_, not once taking her eyes off Gorin as she had done so.

Needless to say, the action surprised the three Ghostbusters, especially Kim. "What in the _hell_ is she doing?" She whispered to J.G. and Sean.

"I really wish I knew." J.G. answered with genuine confusion.

Gorin and Seraphim remained in each other's faces for what felt like an eternity to Kim, J.G., and Sean. Both siblings remained deathly quiet – neither of them making any type of move. Finally, after some time, Gorin asked her, "Why did you bring the mortals into a conflict they have no hope in escaping alive, Sister?"

Seraphim grinned and said only one word: "Backup."

Before anyone could have seen it coming, a mist of saliva sprayed out of Seraphim's mouth and into the "eyes" of Gorin, causing the flames in his sockets to flicker as he was temporarily blinded. With all her might, Seraphim tackled her brother's towering form into a nearby chunk of rubble; the weight of Gorin shattered through it. The sudden action took Kim, J.G., and Sean by total surprise; they each mentally questioned if it was the signal to Seraphim's supposed plan, which they never got the details of. Were they supposed to have fired their guns at Gorin? That seemed impossible with Seraphim right on top of him, pounding her fists against her brother's skeletal face and bloodying them from striking at his cheekbones. None of it made any sense to the three Ghostbusters; all they were doing during the fight between the siblings was watching it happen like three wrestling commentators.

That's when it dawned on J.G. – there was no plan. Seraphim claimed to have brought them to the rooftop as backup, but this was no more than an act of vengeance on her part. J.G. wondered if Kim and Sean realized it as well, but he figured they were just as smart enough to see it themselves. There was nothing more they could do than watch the fight unfold before them with their Proton Guns held uselessly in their gloved hands.

In her mortal form, Seraphim put up an impressive fight against the bigger and presumably stronger Gorin. Her fists were caked with her own blood but she seemed not to care whatsoever. After a while, Gorin looked to be left in a daze from the blows; however, it didn't last for long. Making a swift recovery, Gorin snatched both of her wrists, squeezing them hard enough to draw out a brief cry of agony from Seraphim. He stood at full height, causing Seraphim to dangle three feet from the floor. Gorin laughed in the face of his sister as she struggled to get free from his massive grips. "You pathetic little quim," he coldly berated before powerfully butting his skeletal head against hers.

Seraphim's nose took the brunt of the intense blow; it immediately leaked with blood while she fought to breathe through her mouth and maintain consciousness. Gorin released his hold on her wrists, letting her fall limply to the floor with a heavy thud. "You are a fool for believing that you could _ever_ defeat me in this pathetic human form of yours," scolded Gorin, looming over her. "You might as well unleash your birth form. It will certainly give me more of a challenge."

While her brother had been talking down to her, Seraphim caught something worthy of a useful weapon at the corner of her eye: a large piece of rock with a jagged edge. She prudently reached for it and, without pause, stuck it into the right side of Gorin's abdomen. Gorin did not appear to be affected by the stabbing, merely glancing down at the piece of rock sticking out from his stomach and laughing. His reaction surprised J.G., Kim, and Sean, who all expected him to show at least _some_ anguish; but there was none. To make things even more disturbing, the jagged piece of rock then sunk even further into Gorin's abdomen until it became part of him, leaving no gaping wound from area Seraphim stabbed him in.

"Like I said…_pathetic_."

Seraphim truly did underestimate the remarkable power of her brother, believing the stabbing would have provided her with enough of a distraction to make another move. But the reality of her situation was that she did not have much strength left in her to do anything else; she used the last bit of it for the ineffective stabbing. All she could do at that moment was to brace herself for what was certainly going to be the worst beating of her life. She watched helplessly as Gorin hauled her up by the collar and proceeded in fiercely slapping her with his enormous left hand multiple times. Seraphim's head rapidly swung left and right from each blow she received. The world around her was in streaks; she was barely able to make out Gorin, the Ghostbusters, or any part of the temple ruins after some time. Her jaw went limp, leaving her mouth gaped open. Strands of bloodied saliva flew out; one strand even landed on the left cheek of J.G.'s face, alarming him of the severity of Seraphim's situation.

"Alright, that's it!" He exclaimed with aggravation. "She needs our help!"

"I couldn't agree with you more, dude," acknowledged Kim, who could no longer watch the display of brutal savagery herself. "Let's roast his grotesque ass!" On her call, she and her fellow comrades lifted their Proton Guns and took aim at Gorin. Their purple-and-black particle streams – products of Underworld technology and science by Doctor Finkelstein – shot across the air and struck the towering form of Gorin.

Other than a mild shove, the streams had no effect on the savage, demonic behemoth whatsoever. Gorin did not even pay them any mind, continuing in his beating on Seraphim, whose once-flawless face had transformed into a horrendous mix of blood and bruises. He eventually stopped once he saw her head droopily hang back. Releasing his hold on her collar, he allowed her to slump back to the floor. Kim, J.G., and Sean ceased fire after realizing how futile their attack was. Gorin briefly turned to their direction and snarled. He then returned his attention to his beaten sister, who was sprawled out on the floor, actually fighting to get back up. Gorin robbed her of the opportunity of making an otherwise pitiful comeback by pinning her down with his knee firmly planted on her chest. His immense weight cracked a few of her ribs, prompting her to gasp from the unbelievable pain.

Gorin's snarling increased while he had his battered sister pinned to the floor. "Just as _my_ scars reflected upon _my_ failure, yours shall as well!" Following on this declaration, Gorin reached down at Seraphim's face with his right hand and dug the black, five-inch nails from three of his fingers into her right temple. Smoke had risen out from the spot where nails met flesh. Seraphim winced from the pain, but her agony only amplified as Gorin proceeded to claw at her already damaged face, his nails going over it entirely and leaving three large bulbous scars running parallel. The deep incisions smoked. Gorin's nails were akin to branding iron – and "branding" Seraphim was exactly what he had done. Seraphim's tormented screams echoed through the heavens until she succumbed to the pain inflicted on her by Gorin and fell into unconsciousness.

Kim, Sean, and J.G. could barely keep it together after watching what Gorin had done to Seraphim. There she was, lying at his feet, possibly near the point of death. What Gorin had put her through was a level of torture that went beyond medieval. The three Ghostbusters weren't certain how positive Seraphim was of herself going into this confrontation, but they admired her spirit and tenacity. Unfortunately, it didn't do them much good, especially since Gorin had set his sights on them.

Gorin again snarled – it had become something signature with him to Kim, Sean, and J.G. "Now then," he whispered in his hollowed voice. "Where were we?"

If Gorin was capable of having a mouth with lips, Kim, J.G., and Sean would have sworn that the demonic being had been smiling in anticipation of the nightmare he was about to unleash on them, which they imagined to be ten times worse than what he put Seraphim through. The three Ghostbusters lifted their Proton Guns defensively, even though they knew firing them would not help at all. Gorin quickly advanced on them, wasting no time in savoring the moment.

But everything stopped once a beam of light came over the entire rooftop, blinding Kim, Sean, J.G., and even Gorin in its intense radiance. They tried to look up to see where the source of it had come from, believing it to be the searchlight of a police or military helicopter that caught sight of their business there. However, that notion seemed impossible to them once they realized how the light was similar in nature to that from the sun. Its glow did not last for very long; it had dispersed as swiftly as it had manifested, leaving the rooftop in darkness once again.

Gorin's "eyes" readjusted; he was not used to such intense brightness, having been born in darkness. It hurt him – _really_ hurt him. But he recovered from the pain soon enough to take notice in the fact that J.G., Kim, and Sean, as well as his beaten sister, had vanished from the rooftop. He stood alone in the ruins of Gozer's temple, baffled and furious over the unusual "sorcery" that had unfolded just a second ago.


	11. Children of Darkness

**Chapter Eleven: Children of Darkness**

_"I'm Winston Zeddemore, Your Honor. I've only been with the company for a couple of weeks, but I gotta tell ya…these things are real. Since I joined these men, I've seen shit that'll turn you white."_

That statement Winston gave Mayor Lenny Clotch when he, Peter, Ray, and Egon had to plead their case to him to save New York from Gozer the Gozerian still held true in the situation he found himself in that very moment. There he was, staring at six _live_ gargoyles that stared back at him, and he thought it was a "good" idea to leave his Proton Pack back at the firehouse. Had Elisa Maza led him into a trap? Were these gargoyles there to rip him to shreds? The one they called "Lexington," who was the shortest of the brood, stepped forward and raised his right hand, making Winston flinch instinctively, believing Lexington was making an attack.

But the complete opposite happened…

Lexington was shaking Winston's hand. "It's a _real_ honor to meet you," he jubilantly said.

"You guys are the best!" The Pterosaur-faced one known as Brooklyn exclaimed.

"You're the _real_ defenders 'round here!" The pudgy one named Broadway complimented.

"Aye. The world's been a lot safer with you lads protectin' it just as we've been." The elderly Hudson stated.

The last one to show his appreciation was Bronx, who walked over to Winston's feet and warmly rubbed his head against his legs like a friendly dog (which Winston assumed him to be a gargoyle version of). Winston, completely caught off guard from the gestures and compliments, smiled in relief. He was still tense around the mythical creatures, but he was relieved to find that they were fans of his. "Uh, thanks," he timidly remarked. He momentarily glanced over to Elisa, who smiled from all the appreciation he was getting. "But, uh…really…it's just a job."

"It is _more_ than that, my friend," said Goliath, the tallest and the leader, who – until that second – remained relatively silent while his clan showered Winston with respect. "Four years ago, you saved this world from the threats of Shan Yu, The Horned King, and the Black Cauldron. It was a day none of us have ever forgotten since. The skies filled with blood and the sun was blotted out, awakening us from sleep earlier than expected. We saw the Horned King's face there in the sky, calling to Shan Yu, and we knew the Hour of Chernabog was near. Thankfully, your interference had averted whatever destruction that could have befallen upon this world."

Winston knew of the event that Goliath referenced; he, Peter, Ray, and Egon had heard of it shortly after saving the New York of that reality from the malfunctioned Ecto-Relayer that somehow brought Gozer back. Even though the four of them had no clue how it happened or what caused it, they knew the Ghostbusters of that world were the real ones responsible for stopping it. However, it was Peter's idea for them to take the credit for themselves in order to build a reputation and earn the respect of the people, who – at the time – had no idea who they were or when the Disney Ghostbusters would ever return. But Winston felt it was time to come clean with Elisa and the gargoyles: "Well, uh…the truth is that it wasn't _us_ that did it…it was _another_ Ghostbusters team – the ones of this world – that _really_ saved the day. All we really did was save it from a device one of the recruits made that got crazy when we arrived here."

Hearing the truth from Winston brought out surprise from Elisa and the gargoyles; they all looked to each other in deep thought. Winston wondered if he should've kept his mouth shut, seeing that it might've cost him whatever trust he could have made with such moral beings. Thankfully, Goliath rectified his fears as he told him, "It does not change how we feel about what 'Ghostbusters' represent. Your purpose is to protect humanity from the threat of the supernatural – a purpose that we commonly share. In these dire times, you and your team are saviors in the oncoming invasion that Chernabog intends to bring on the world."

"There's that name again – Chernabog." Winston said. "What connection do you guys have to him anyway?"

"Our 'connection' is not a pretty one; that much is for certain." Hudson stated.

"We were bred from the flames of hell by Chernabog himself to be prepared for ragnarök." Goliath explained. "Chernabog's plan for conquest upon this world was meant to occur _much_ earlier – over a thousand years ago to be exact. He saw this world as being imperfect with the barbaric humans that lived at the time. It was corrupt enough for him to make a new home for us…his Children of Darkness. We were supposed to be the enforcers in the invasion he intended to take place long ago, but we eventually saw the wrong in his plan."

"We grew the one thing Chernabog hadn't expected us to: a conscience." Brooklyn commentated.

Goliath continued in his story: "We escaped to the mortal world to live a life of peace, protecting the very humans we were sworn to conquer and destroy. We lived through the medieval era and maintained a somewhat rocky relationship with the humans, until one day an act of betrayal and misunderstanding led us to be cursed to sleep in our stone forms for centuries. It wasn't until we reawakened in 2009 when we learned of Chernabog's impending return from the events orchestrated a year prior by Maleficent – an old adversary of ours."

"Elisa told us how it was Ghostbusters that stopped the apocalypse from happening _twice_ – once from Gozer and then again from Maleficent." Lexington said.

"And it was those actions that have led us to contact you through Elisa." Goliath indicated. "We believe another attempt on this world is imminent now more than ever, perhaps at an even greater scale. Chernabog knows how much of a threat anyone carrying the title of 'Ghostbuster' is and will not hesitate in going to extreme measures to get them out of his way. He might be more powerful and dangerous than he was centuries ago, but we have faith that you will defeat him. If Gozer and Maleficent could be defeated by mortals, Chernabog can as well."

The task sounded more overwhelming to Winston than Goliath or his friends even realized. He was virtually asking him and the Ghostbusters team he had worked with for a short amount of time to go up against another deity. Gozer might as well have been a pushover compared with Chernabog for all Winston knew, and it scared the hell out of Winston not knowing what to expect. But if Goliath and his clan were on their side for this one, then he felt somewhat hopeful in succeeding. And that was why he finally came to the decision that he did: "Alright. You got a deal." He put his hand out for Goliath to shake, and the tall, empowering gargoyle merely stared at it for a few seconds; it was clear how much of a cautious fellow he was, which was understandable considering all that he had been through. Finally, he shook Winston's hand (it was dwarfed by Goliath's) to seal the deal.

"Thank you." He graciously told Winston.

"Not a prob." Winston remarked. "I know Ray and Egon will get a kick out of this. They always dig these types of things."

Goliath was lost in the diction of Winston's words. "They…kick…and dig?"

Elisa chuckled over Goliath's confusion. "I'll explain later, big guy." She then moved in close to Winston, looking him directly in his eyes, and respectfully said, "You are a brave man for agreeing to help. I know you're probably terrified about all of this – heck, I'm scared myself – but I have a strong feeling we'll make it through this."

Winston heard every word she said, but he was lost in her beauty again. It was just something that he could not ignore. His agreeing to help had certainly gained some respect and admiration from her; he didn't want to think of it as "scoring points" with her – the last thing he wanted was for this to be a Dana/Peter type of relationship. If his bravery did bring out feelings that Elisa had for him, then that only made his duty as a Ghostbuster in this situation all the more worth it. He wasn't in this for the fame like Peter or for the science and mythology like Egon and Ray; he was only in this for a "steady paycheck." Yet it only took one female detective from a world he didn't belong in to change all of that.

Unbeknownst to them, Winston and Elisa had been locking eyes for quite a long moment. It was not until a sudden tremor came over the tower that their attention was directed to their surroundings as they and the gargoyles searched for whatever was the cause of the quake. But a quick glance at Goliath and the anticipated look on his face told Winston that he knew _who_ was behind it.

* * *

"This is all so damn unbelievable."

Lisa sat upon the brown leather sofa of the living room of Patrick Creel's home in Tampa Bay, Florida. Earlier, she was dropped off there with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J., thanks to Remus, who was nice enough to offer them a ride. Tampa Bay was twenty-five miles and forty-one minutes away from Clearwater, but the time it took for them to get there felt longer in Remus's old, beat-up 1951 Ford truck. They didn't mind how slow the ride was as it gave Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J. the time in explaining all that had happened to Lisa between being attacked on Clearwater Beach and waking up there earlier. Lisa almost couldn't believe that her body had been swapped with a Hun warrior's and used to fight against the Horned King's army in the Underworld. She was certain that whatever the Ghostbusters did to stop them and bring her back to herself was the reason for her memory loss.

But nothing was more surprising to her than all that had changed in her life in the four years she had been away – she had been left widowed, a new Ghostbusters team that were apparently from another world had formed in New York and taken the place of the ones that had yet to reemerge, and many other teams had grown all over the world because of these "new" Ghostbusters. For Lisa (as well as Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J.), it was like waking up out of a four-year coma; nothing felt the same. Lisa's daughters, Selina and Zoe (who had been staying with Patrick in her absence), were older and practically almost women. She had missed the years of witnessing crucial events in their maturity and left them believing _both_ of their parents were dead. It was that reason why Lisa hugged them for several minutes upon arriving at Patrick's house.

"They should be rightfully pissed at me for leaving them alone like that," she told Patrick, who sat by her on the sofa. "I'm pretty pissed at myself right now."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Patrick urged. "You couldn't have known what would happen while investigating the cauldron."

"Bullshit! I _did_ know!" Lisa exclaimed in frustration. She lowered her voice once she reminded herself that Selina and Zoe were in the next room (Patrick's "Entertainment Room") with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J., watching television. "We _both_ knew from the time we investigated it and all that weird stuff happened to us. I always know the risks, but I never think of how it'll affect others when I take them."

Patrick grinned. "Sounds a lot like someone we know."

Lisa nodded when she realized that he had referred to Kimberly Venkman. "I really wish I knew where _she_ was. I could really use her and the rest of her team right now."

"You still got me."

She immediately looked to him soon after he said that and saw the warm, loving smile that he gave her. The amazing generosity he showed in stepping up to take care of her daughters while she went missing gave her a whole new appreciation for this kind man, who had become more than a friend of hers. "Thank you, Patrick," she whispered, almost choking on her words as she began to feel emotional – not just from the immense gratitude she had for him, but from the thought of the world moving ahead of her. It would take a long time for her to adjust, but she knew Patrick would be there for her every step of the way. That much was certain from how the two of them held hands – an action they only took notice in as soon as they felt each other's thumbs soothingly rubbing against their palms.

It was a moment of romance that Lisa and Patrick did not anticipate to find themselves in, yet it was a welcoming experience after all they had been through. That made it all the more frustrating when Max suddenly rushed into the room and interrupted their moment by shouting, "You guys have _got_ to come and see this!" It seemed extremely urgent, judging from the alarmed expression on his face, which carried a lot of his father's _goofy_ features. Lisa and Patrick joined him and everyone else in the entertainment room as a simulcast of a live event happening in New York City played on the flat-screen television set. The volume was already up high enough for them to hear the newscaster give an update on what the audience was seeing:

"Just a few minutes ago, right where the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir used to be before mysteriously drained from a sinkhole just yesterday evening, this mountain you're currently seeing _live_ helicopter footage of right now has risen from that very same sinkhole in Central Park. Now we don't know _how_ exactly it got there but, prior to the time of its rise, there were reports of tremors in radius of the park. Police and military have strongly cautioned everyone to remain off limits from the park until this matter is further investigated."

They watched the looped footage of the large, dark, towering mountain standing within Central Park and encompassing much of the area. Although it was an alarmingly unnatural sight to Lisa, Patrick, Selina, and Zoe, it was Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J. that were strongly affected by it, watching the footage in horror. "Oh, man!" P.J. was the first to vocally express their terror. "Is that what I think it is?"

"It can't be!" Donald shouted.

"I'm afraid it is, fellas." Mickey regretfully acknowledged.

Noting their increasing concern and getting confused by it, Lisa questioned, "What? What is it?"

"Oh, that's right." Mickey said, finding comfort in looking away from the TV and towards Lisa. "You weren't with us when we _first_ encountered it, but the time we were trapped in the Seventh Circle, we had the unfortunate pleasure in visiting the home of Chernabog. We'd imagined that we'd never see it again after that place was destroyed, but…" The petrified mouse gazed back at the television, once again seeing the mountain that was as high as the skyscrapers around the park. "It looks like it's found a new spot in _our_ world."

Following on what Mickey was telling her, Lisa began to tense up herself. "Wait a sec. Are you saying that's…?"

Mickey fearfully nodded. "Bald Mountain."


	12. The Zeta Ghostbusters

**Chapter Twelve: The Zeta Ghostbusters**

The aroma of freshly baked Whoppers and fries made Diana even hungrier coming out of the _Burger King_ on Fifth Avenue. _They just don't make 'em like this anymore_, she thought while walking out the exit – a paper bag with her and Janine's food in one hand and a large cup of _Dr. Pepper_ that she took frequent sips out of in the other. A gentleman entering the restaurant in a business suit opened the door for her on the way out; his chivalrous gesture being another thing that Diana rarely saw in a New Yorker from the era and world that she came from. Of course, shortly thereafter, a black teenage street performer in a bright red track suit with a gold chain around his neck, glasses with white frames but no lenses, and a medium-sized afro nearly bumped into her, paying no mind to his surroundings, except for the small audience he gained at the sidewalk.

The kid showed some impressive dance steps to the tune of Toto's "Africa," a song Diana had not heard since she was the young performer's age. She found herself quickly catching interest in his performance, bobbing her head to the beat while keeping up with his quick moves, which included classics like the head spin and the robot (moves that hardly any dance clubs featured in the 21st century). The nostalgia had flown through Diana faster than the _Dr. Pepper_ she was sipping on; she felt like she was part of the group of youths watching the performer and cheering him on. It was a definite feel-good moment for her being lost in the times, yet she received a harsh reminder of who and where she really was when a couple that shared her current age passed by and gave judgmental stares in her direction. The message from the stares was clear to Diana: "You should act your age, lady."

Diana's head stopped bobbing along to the tunes of "Africa" and she suddenly lost interest in the street performer who was young enough to be her son. The passing couple, who dressed much older than they looked, put an immediate damper on Diana's good time. She moved from loving the fact that she was back in a decade she missed dearly to wishing she was back in one that made her into the woman she almost forgot she was. This version of 1984, although strongly reminiscent of the one she grew up in, was not _her_ 1984. She belonged in 2010, a time when it was okay for a woman her age to groove to 80s classics and not feel embarrassed about it. People in their mid-forties living in 1984 might as well have been grooving to Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly and not Toto.

Regardless of the moment, the time had come for Diana to return to the firehouse while the Whoppers and fries were still hot. She hailed for one of the dozens of taxicabs passing through Fifth Avenue and thankfully got one the moment she shouted "Taxi!" Upon entering the cab, she thanked the driver; however, he did not respond and only complied with her emergence into the vehicle by pulling away from the street corner much sooner than she expected (the passenger door was still open when the wheels started moving). Surprised and angered by the rude action, Diana yelled to the driver, "Hey! Watch it! I barely got _both_ of my feet in!"

Again, the driver did not react to her criticism of his driving. Curiously, Diana looked to the rearview mirror, which allowed her to see the cab driver's eyes. She was shocked to see how stark yellow they were and lacking any eyelids. She then realized for the first time since entering the cab how a putrid odor had filled its interior. In her years of dealing with ghosts and other dead creatures, she recognized the smell of death when it was there. The cab driver was in fact a living zombie that drove like a madman through the streets of the city, weaving in and out between other cars and forcing them to crash into each other to avoid its chaotic path.

Comprehending the nightmarish position she found herself in, and without a Proton Pack strapped on her to get her out of it, Diana uttered in fright, "Oh, God!"

"You call to Him like He will help you, but there is no one to help. Typical of you mortals to do that."

The young female voice spoke out from Diana's right, and she discovered that she was not the only passenger in the cab. Sitting there beside her was a ghostly pale young woman with dark purple rings around her eyes, hair that was supposed to be blonde but instead the color of vanilla, and dried-out, chapped lips. She wore a Ghostbuster uniform that was wrinkled and tattered, exposing more of her ghostly pale body, which showed signs of fatigue and frailty. Her body type was not too far from a state of anorexia. Diana almost could not believe her eyes once she realized who her unhealthy-looking fellow passenger was.

"Meagan?"

The young woman looked to her with possessed, reddened eyes. "There is no Meagan."

A more careful glance over Meagan's ghostly appearance clued Diana in on whom she was _really_ talking to. "Allha." The Observer of Gozer, who Diana had not seen in person since their expedition in the Seventh Circle, was once again in possession of the young Ghostbuster. While as Meagan, she looked the same as (if not worse than) last time, but it was clear to Diana how the possession had taken its toll on Meagan's body. "What've you done to this poor child? She looks like she hasn't eaten in _months_!"

"This body hasn't need of any sustenance."

"Maybe not for _you_, but Meagan _does_!" Diana exclaimed.

"There is no Meagan, only…"

"Allha. Right, I know. But even _you_ can't exist without her. If you continue to let her body starve like this, it will kill _both_ of you."

Allha's eyes darted away from Diana, seeming to consider her truthful warning. She then looked to the paper bag in Diana's hand that carried the 1980s _Burger King_ logo. She snatched the bag away from Diana, who barely caught sight of the action due to how hasty it was. Allha brought it close to her nose and sniffed; her stomach growled in reaction to the aroma that would make the mouths of normal beings water; of course, between the smell of burgers and that of the decomposed taxi driver in front of them, Diana pretty much lost her appetite.

Hearing and feeling her stomach growl, Allha curiously looked to Diana and asked, "This…is what you mortals…_eat_?"

"The ones who aren't keen on dieting, yeah."

Allha focused on the paper bag again and studied it. After a moment, she proceeded to bite into the paper, which she believed to be the "food" itself.

"No, no!" Diana exclaimed. "Not the bag. What's _in_ the bag."

With half-chewed paper in her mouth, Allha appeared to be _very_ confused on Diana's instruction. She opened the bag and pulled out the first paper-wrapped Whopper inside. She went right to eating it – not bothering to remove the wrapper. Diana watched in disgust as both burger and wrapper went into Allha's mouth, while pieces of the burger's contents (pickles, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, etc.) landed all over the tattered Ghostbuster uniform she wore, staining it. Once she was finished with the one Whopper, she went for the next one in the bag that was supposed to be Janine's, eating it in the same manner. To Diana, Allha ate like a dog, which was understandable considering that her true form _was_ one. After consuming the French fries and the cartons they came in, Allha noticed the bag was empty and tossed it out the window.

She looked to her stomach and waited for it to growl again; when it did not, she turned to Diana and gawked at her without any type of expression on her face, which had stains that made a messy-eating baby look classy. "This body now feels humbled by this gift of food," she said before unleashing a loud, sickening belch.

Diana nodded, trying her best not to vomit. "Good to know."

"It makes it that much more disappointing when such pleasantries will no longer be in existence."

Her words helped Diana to recall the warning she gave shortly after their Seventh Circle escapade. "You _did_ mean Gozer when you said there was 'one other who desires vengeance upon you all,' didn't you?" Allha did not confirm it, but the intensity in her eyes was enough to for Diana. "Oh, boy." She sighed with an overwhelming sense of desolation; not only was it confirmed to her that Gozer had an involvement in their presence in the alternate 1984 world, but it turned out that Kim was right in her hypothesis about it. "So when will the imminent return happen?"

"Soon." Allha responded.

"Well, she'd better get in line then, because there's an even bigger threat than her on the approach – Chernabog." Allha's eyes intensified upon hearing that name from Diana, even glowing bright red. But the look only made Diana more suspicious of what the Observer of Gozer knew. "Wait a minute. You've been _expecting_ him to make a move, haven't you?"

"Gozer has anticipated Chernabog's arrival for centuries." Allha stated. "Only now that their paths and goals have aligned can the Destructor's ultimate possession occur."

Diana was put off from the words "ultimate possession." "You mean Gozer's planning to take Chernabog's form?"

"Full possession will promise the Destructor to become _full_ god. Countless worlds will be destroyed, starting with yours and then returning to finish what was begun in this one."

Allha's monotone delivery of this information alarmed Diana more than the info itself; it was like she did not care whatsoever what level of destruction Gozer brought while in possession of Chernabog. Frustration taking over her, Diana brashly asked, "And what role do you play in all of this? What's a common minion like _you_ getting out of it?"

"To ensure the Destructor's plan," she said before looking away from Diana and adding, "and see my brothers and sisters again."

Noting the slight expression of melancholy on her face, Diana inquisitively questioned, "Brothers and sisters? You mean like Vinz and Zuul?"

"They are members of my long-extinct race. The Ghostbuster mortals of this world destroyed them when Gozer manifested here. She found _your_ world and believed in another prospect, using her power to resurrect them. But you and _your_ Ghostbusters ended that in the same way as your counterparts. Because of anyone carrying the title of 'Ghostbuster,' my brother Vinz remains dead." She locked her gaze on Diana again, her eyes glowing in a brighter shade of red in reflection of the fury within her. "It will _not_ happen again. Gozer _will_ take over Chernabog, and the Clortho clan will live again."

Diana felt her body tremble; she was going to be sick again, not from the foul odor flowing through the cab's interior or the stains of food all over Allha, but from the idea of the greatest threat of domination ever heard of happening, with no possible way of stopping it. Yet all she could think about in this frightening world that Allha painted out for her was where Meagan would be in it if she was still possessed by Allha. "Just tell me this…the poor girl whose body you're in now…what happens to _her_ after this life where Gozer destroys everything and your race of 'demon dogs' make a comeback happens?"

Without pause, Allha answered, "She will die – just like every _other_ mortal I have possessed to ensure Gozer's destruction."

That response was enough to bring tears in Diana's eyes.

* * *

The taxicab came to a screeching halt right in front of the firehouse headquarters, much to the dismay of Diana. She was thankful that Kim, Sean, and J.G. were at Dana Barrett's apartment on what she originally believed to have been a wild goose chase. Had they been there when she and Allha walked in, there would certainly be disorder, which was the last thing she wanted there to be with Janine and Theresa (two innocent bystanders) in the thick of it. Unfortunately, Janine and Theresa _were_ there – all by themselves; it was doubtful whether the two women could defend themselves should Allha make any sort of attack – Theresa only had a few days of experience as a Ghostbuster, mainly as the mechanic.

Diana and Allha exited the taxicab shortly before its long-dead driver sped away down the street, unleashing his "road rage" on the rest of New York's motorists. As thankful as she was to be out of the foul-smelling vehicle after nearly an hour of having a thrill ride in it, Diana would be even more thankful if she had a Proton Pack strapped to her back. There was no way she could get to one without Allha watching every move she made. She needed a distraction…she needed a plan. The best she could come up with, as she and the Observer of Gozer walked up to the firehouse entrance, was to have Janine do what she did best and chat away at Allha while Diana and Theresa went to get their Packs. It was either that plan or hope that her fellow teammates were fully equipped when they returned. _Man, would I __love__ there to be cell phones right about now_, she desperately thought.

The two women stepped into the firehouse – Diana taking uneasy steps and Allha's steady, robotic movements in the body of Meagan Tully. Their steps came to a sudden stop as soon as they both caught sight of a group of strangers standing in the middle of the garage area. And they weren't just strangers, three of them were _strange_. In this group were three women and one man. One of the women was a regular human being with lips as red as a rose and black hair, wearing a variation of the Ghostbuster uniform with the nametag of "Stantz" stitched on it; the other two were completely bizarre in their appearance. Diana actually recognized one as Joie Zeddemore – the "Alien Ghostbuster" that she and Sean met on their first night in the new world. The third woman, who had "Spengler" on her nametag, carried a cyborg appearance – like a cross between Borg and Terminator – with the left half of her body all mechanical from head to toe and the other half human. The mechanical half exposed her metal endoskeleton, which was coated in black with a robotic eye that "blinked" in a rainbow of colors; the human half included long, flowing red hair and peach-colored skin with a hazel eye. The only parts of her human half that crossed over to her mechanical half were her well-structured nose and lush bright pink lips to help form a mouth that she could talk through.

The only male in the group, who had the nametag of "Venkman" on his uniform, was a humanoid with bright yellow skin, orange hair, and green eyes. He had a bronze, steel device enclosing his neck – similar to a neck brace – with lights, buttons, speakers, and a small LED display that currently displayed the term "English" in blinking purple letters. Diana had to guess that the neck device had to be some type of translator; this was confirmed when the man spoke through it. "Hello, Allha," he said in a mechanized voice that came through the speakers on his neck translator; not once did his lips actually move.

Diana was left daunted by the bizarre group standing in the firehouse with suits and equipment that mirrored those of the Ghostbusters team she had known and the ones whose world she was currently living in. She looked to her left, seeing how Allha reacted to them; they clearly weren't part of her agenda. The Observer of Gozer's face only expressed limited confusion and surprise. "Who are you? What manner of creatures are you?"

Joie grinned; her completely black eyes staring down at Allha. "We're Plan C, _bitch_!"

From the corner of her eye, there came a bright flash that prompted Diana to turn her head to see where the source of the light had come from. There, standing right beside Allha, were J.G., Kim, and Sean. In Kim's hands was a strange, bowl-shaped chrome helmet device; it looked similar to a piece of equipment they used to read the aura and mental structures of other people. Diana had no idea what this version of the helmet did, but she doubted that it read auras or minds. She watched as J.G. and Sean roughly grabbed Allha's arms, subduing and distracting her long enough for Kim to place the helmet directly on her head. A switch on the left side of the helmet was flipped and Allha's stature went from being rigid and tensed to loose and relaxed. There was a transformation in her face as the reddish glow in her eyes had dispersed and expressions that were more human in nature emerged. Even the way in which she spoke was more social and less soulless or monotone: "W-What's going on?"

It was then Diana realized that Allha was no longer in control and Meagan Tully was again. She smiled, feeling relieved to see the young woman as herself again. "Meagan! Are you alright?"

"I guess." She shrugged. "My mouth tastes weird…like I've been eating out of the garbage." Her tongue briefly moved around in her mouth, and she stuck it out to reveal a tiny piece of paper. Plucking the piece off the tip of her tongue, Meagan muttered with great confusion, "What the crap?"

Diana turned her attention to Kim, Sean, and J.G. "Where did you find this thing?" She gestured to the helmet on Meagan's head, noticing the weird alien labels above the switches and blinking lights on it.

Kimberly smiled in immense satisfaction and pointed to the bizarre group nearby. "It was all them."

Diana looked to the group, still unsettled by the unusual appearance of Joie and the other two members that stuck out like a sore thumb. "Who…_What_ are all of you?"

"They're another Ghostbusters team from another world, Dye!" J.G. exclaimed, appearing to be beyond excited – more excited than he had ever been his whole life. "They call themselves the Zeta Ghostbusters, and we were just on their spaceship! It is awesome, Dye! It's the world's biggest Containment Unit in the form of an alien spaceship! How badass is _that_!"

The young dark-haired woman with the "Stantz" nametag on her uniform stepped forward and addressed Diana. "My name's Maryl-Lyn." She gestured to her three more alien teammates. "You've already met Joie."

Joie nodded at Diana. "Whaddup, my sistah!"

"The new faces are Axel Venkman and Chrissy Spengler." Maryl-Lyn said, introducing the last two Zeta Ghostbusters.

"Greetings," stated Axel's translator. Diana had yet to get used to him not speaking through his mouth.

Chrissy's cybernetic eye "blinked" in unison with her human one as they both stared at Diana. "My sensors tell me that you are disturbed, Diana Zeddemore. Does our appearance unsettle you?"

"Oh, jeez." Joie uttered in exasperation; if her eyes weren't so black, everyone would have noticed them rolling. "She does that shit _way_ too much."

"I am merely indicating a human reaction." Chrissy said, her voice practically as unvaried in tone and delivery as her counterpart, Sean Spengler – only her cyborg physiology added to the personification of an _actual_ robot.

Maryl-Lyn chuckled while still addressing Diana. "Don't mind Chrissy. She's our own walking, talking P.K.E. meter and Proton Pack rolled into one."

"We're workin' on gettin' a Ghost Trap installed in her ass." Joie joked, although Chrissy took it literally from the surprised expression masked on the human half of her face.

Diana was totally overwhelmed by the new team, who were only relatable to her and her team by their last names only; with the exception of Chrissy, the Zetas' personalities were the opposite of their equivalents – Joie oozed with as much sarcasm and arrogance as Kim, Maryl-Lyn was the odd one out like Diana herself, and Axel seemed as friendly and full of heart as J.G. (but it was difficult to tell if that was how he _really _was with the translator doing most of his talking).

"So…you all are actual _alien_ Ghostbusters?" Diana questioned.

Maryl-Lyn nodded with a modest smile. "Meh. We prefer 'Intergalactic Ghostbusters,' but same thing, I suppose. We come from a far-off galaxy in another dimension of time and space."

"Much like you people and the guys from this dimension, we're pretty friggin' famous where we come from." Joie stated. "We've caught and kicked the ass of every ghost, demon, and deity in our universe."

"Hence our dedication to interdimensional travel between multiple universes." Chrissy said. "We protect and save the worlds where Ghostbusters are non-existent."

Diana began to understand the purpose of this team, yet some facts remained puzzling to her. "If that's your cause, then why come to a world where there are – or at least _were –_ Ghostbusters?"

"We've detected some anomalies that have bounced between this world and the one you all come from." Maryl-Lyn answered.

"No doubt one of those 'anomalies' is Chernabog." J.G. confirmed. "After meeting his son on the rooftop of Dana Barrett's apartment, there's no denying that for a fact."

Diana let out a frustrated sigh, knowing that what she was about to reveal next would undoubtedly fuel Kimberly Venkman's ego even more. "And Gozer, too. The other anomaly is Gozer." She glanced over at Kim, who (as she expected) had a huge, pompous, satisfied smile on her face. "Yes, you were right, O.K.?"

"I know." Kim said. "We heard that little conversation between you and Allha from the Zetas' ship."

Diana's levels of frustration had risen as she realized that she had been led-on. "And yet you _still_ gave yourself the satisfaction of having me admit you were right?"

Kim's smile grew. "Yep. Pretty much."

Diana moaned. "You are _unbelievable_!"

"If we can get back to the topic of the hour, _please_?" Joie interjected. "We have the necessary tools to stop Chernie and the Goze, and we're willing to provide them to save the two worlds from their evil plots."

"Well, then beam us back up," said J.G., who was already ecstatic over the idea of returning to the Zetas' ship.

Maryl-Lyn reached over at her upper right arm and pressed her index and middle fingers down on the insignia patch stitched on her right sleeve. Noticing it for the first time, Diana saw that the insignia of the Zeta Ghostbusters was nothing more than a Rubik's Cube that was red on the sides and white at the top. The patch worked as both a decoration and a communication device linked to the Zetas' ship, much like the crew from _Star Trek: The Next Generation_. While Maryl-Lyn contacted someone on the ship by the name of "Nubia" and ordered them to be teleported there, Diana suddenly realized that Janine and Theresa had been absent from the firehouse throughout the entire scene.

"Hey, where are Janine and Theresa?"

J.G. appeared to be a little perturbed from her question. "Well, uh…we sent Janine home before the Zetas arrived here – we didn't want to risk giving her _another_ scare after what Theresa did."

Diana raised a curious eyebrow. "'What Theresa did?' What exactly did she do?"

J.G. swapped troubled glances with Kim and Sean. Their apprehensive faces were soon engulfed by intense glows before everyone there in the firehouse garage had vanished.


	13. Devil's Advocates

**Chapter Thirteen: Devil's Advocates**

It was a sight that Alex, Phineas, and Ferb never had imagined they would see...certainly not in New York...not in _their_ world. Five years ago, they made a deadly journey into the Seventh Circle of Hell and faced unimaginable evils. There were spectacles that they had witnessed that were burnt into their memories – one of which being Bald Mountain, the home of the ruler of Hell himself, Chernabog. They had hoped to never see the monstrously-sized mountain ever again after the Circle's destruction, but it had somehow manifested itself again in the heart of Central Park. The news coverage had been played on repeat for nearly two hours; it was on practically every channel, preempting several shows that were normally broadcasted at that time. Currently, the news team began conducting interviews with eyewitnesses of the mountain's emergence and scientists who gave their best hypotheses on how the mountain rose from out of the ground (even Disney experts gave their best reasoning on the phenomenon); CNN unfortunately got a "Howard Stern Prank Call" during their coverage on the event.

Whilst Alex, Phineas, and Ferb were horrified from the image of the mountain broadcasted on the flat-screen TV in the entertainment center on the first floor of the firehouse, CeCe and Rocky were just as surprised from its sudden appearance as the rest of the world, not having a clue what it was or where it came from. Ray, Egon, and Peter felt indifferent about it, seeing it as just another supernatural event akin to Gozer – although Ray was thrilled to see that they were witnessing something so catastrophically phenomenal. "Oh, man! This is big! This is bigger than big! This is _colossal_!"

"Try not to cream yourself too much, Ray." Peter jested.

"This is not funny, guys!" Alex furiously shouted, surprising Ray, Peter, and Egon from her sudden outburst. "We are doomed!"

Seeing the negative way Alex, Phineas, and Ferb were reacting to the mountain on TV, Egon grew curious. "You've seen this structure before?"

Phineas confirmed Egon's suspicions with a nod. "A long time ago, we went into the Seventh Circle with the Disney Ghostbusters and saw that same mountain. Chernabog _lives_ in it."

Ray, Egon, and Peter's ears perked on the name Phineas had uttered, having heard it before. "Chernabog," Ray repeated it in an excitable manner. "Well, why didn't you kids say so? This is the moment we've been prepared before long since we got here!"

"What?" shouted Alex, Phineas, Ferb, CeCe, and Rocky – all alarmed by this sudden news, which (to them) was bigger than that happening on TV.

The kids watched the three men move directly to their lockers and suit themselves up in their flight suits. Alex observed their actions in an array of conflicting emotions. "What do you mean you've been 'prepared'? You guys knew this was going to happen?"

"Well, not _exactly_ this, but something _very_ similar." Ray reiterated.

"Then you should know that we can't let you go out there alone." Phineas stated. "You've got to send _all_ of us out there with you. Chernabog's _not_ a force to be reckoned with!"

"Right." Alex attested. "Most of us were there in the Circle and have seen what Chernabog can do. He made this one dude turn into his own version of him with _his_ body!"

Ray's eyes widened with interest. "Really?"

"Look, kids, we appreciate the warning, but this guy Chernabog is nothin' we haven't handled before." Peter, ever the confident one, stated.

"We've done proper studies on this entity when we were first informed of him." Egon said. "All of our research has told us that Chernabog is in a class below Gozer."

Ray nodded in affirmation with Egon's supporting facts. "Yeah, Gozer was the only real challenge we could've ever really had, and that was when we were still new to the business. Chernabog just sounds like another pushover god."

"He's not!" Alex pleadingly said. "You have to trust us on this!"

The conversation reached a point in which the three men were no longer even listening to the youths and instead double-checking to see if they had all their gear and equipment together in the Ectomobile. Alex groaned in aggravation, seeing how boastful their acting superiors were – a clear result of their masculinity in the years they had busted ghosts. There was no point in arguing with them at that point. Had this been Kimberly Venkman that Alex was trying to convince, Kim would have (somewhat) taken their warning under consideration; _Peter_ Venkman completely ignored it. Even though the two Venkmans were compatible in their personalities, they appeared to be slightly different in their morale.

"If you hear from Winston, tell him we'll be in Central Park, getting the party started," he instructed them while gathering into the Ecto-1 with Egon and Ray.

The company vehicle's engines revved loud, drowning out any further pleas Alex, Phineas, and Ferb could make upon their speedy departure from the firehouse and to Central Park. The recruits watched in defeat as they left. "They're gonna get destroyed," said CeCe, who remained relatively quiet along with Rocky through the entire conversation.

"Quite the arrogant schmucks, aren't they?"

They spun around as soon as they heard the voice that spoke from nowhere, finding a bald-headed man with a near-skeletal physique and severely pale skin that contrasted with the gray, pinstriped suit he wore that suited his slime frame. He was lying down across the desk that once belonged to Christina Melnitz, grinning at the recruits gawking at him in confusion and total surprise. To Phineas, Ferb, CeCe, and Rocky, the stranger was just what he was to them – a total stranger; to Alex, he was a lot more than that. The young wizard, recognizing the man lounging on Christina's desk, shouted his name for the others to know: "Hades!"

Phineas looked to her in astonishment. "_The_ Hades?"

"Yeah, that Hades." The man confirmed. "Lord of the Dead - how ya doin'?"

"_Former_ Lord of the Dead." Alex boldly reflected. "Last time I checked, you were put in a coma after Maleficent took over your body. The doctors said you'd be out for several months."

Hades jumped off the desk, smiling. "The wonders of modern medicine, eh?"

Rocky could still hardly believe the identity of the man who somehow got into the headquarters. "Wait. So this is the _same_ Hades from _Hercules_?"

"YES!" Hades yelled in annoyance. "I am _that_ Hades! Can we move past that now?"

"How are you here? Really?" Alex questioned.

"Ask these boys," answered Hades, gesturing to Phineas and Ferb. "Owe my 'awakening' all to them."

Phineas and Ferb stood dumbfounded over Hades' claim. "Us?" Phineas innocently remarked. "What did _we_ do?"

Hades chuckled. "'What did you _do_?' You invented _this_." He made a slight gesture with his right hand and, in a puff of black smoke, the boys' Ecto-Relayer invention manifested in Hades' grip. The device was fully-repaired, as compared with how heavily damaged it was after Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston destroyed it to close the portal it opened four years ago. "Thanks to you kids and your little toy here, there was enough psycho-kinetic energy coming out of that portal and spread throughout the world to rejuvenate me." He then added in a fit of frustration, "But only partially."

"Only partially?" Phineas repeated in amusement.

"Hey, did I stutter?" Hades snapped. "What you klutzes did to the Underworld is the reason I'm stuck as a demigod right now. Only got enough power to travel between this world and the one those golden boys that raced outta here a second ago come from."

Hearing this, Alex suddenly made a surprising connection. "You're the one who brought them here."

Hades grinned. "You certainly are a _wiz_ kid, aren't ya? Yeah, I plucked them out of their world of 80s nostalgia overload and brought them here for only one purpose: takin' down ol' Chernie."

"I don't believe you." Alex said. "Why would _you_ help _them_?"

Hades nodded his head. "Like I said – 'wiz kid.' You're right. I'm not helping them. I'm using them as live bait to lure Chernie out of his home there in Central Park - the spot where our golden boys are heading straight for right now. As soon as Chernie makes his grand debut in this world, I'm using the boy geniuses' handy tool here to open _another_ portal that'll bring back my buddy Gozer. From there, Gozer will do his thing: control Chernie's form and become the _Ultimate Destructor_." He took notice in the horrified faces of the children before him, amused by them. "Nice plan, eh? Almost worked four years ago, until the '84 Ghostbusters proved to be as good as _your_ Ghostbusters – if not better. They're not bad for a bunch of guys who've been Ghostbusters for only a month, am I right?"

He didn't get a response. The recruits were so appalled from his plan that they were practically speechless.

Only Alex managed to say what was on her mind after hearing Hades ramble for three minutes. "Your plan doesn't make any sense. Chernabog wants to destroy our world just as much as Gozer does."

"Chernie's a conqueror, not a destroyer, kid." Hades elucidated. "Unlike Chernie, Gozer doesn't believe your existence is worth ruling. Sucks, doesn't it?"

Alex glared at the gray-suited demigod. "Not as much as snatchin' that Relayer away from you. Get 'im!" She shouted the command to CeCe, Rocky, Phineas, and Ferb and the four of them charged at Hades. Unfortunately, none of their bodies connected with his as they merely went right through it, as if Hades wasn't even there. They collapsed on top of each other right behind him. Alex, witnessing the demigod's power as it occurred, quickly retrieved her wand out of her left boot, aiming it at him. "Butterus Fingerus!"

The spell she conjured had worked – the Relayer device slipped right out of Hades' hand like a wet bar of soap and skid right across the floor. Alex rushed to it, dropping down and sliding with her right arm outstretched towards the Relayer. Her fingers touched the device and she smiled from her success. Unfortunately, it did not last long. Right before Alex's eyes, the Relayer vanished from beneath her fingers in a puff of black smoke. She looked to Hades, who once again had the device held in his hand.

"Nice try, wiz kid." He sinisterly belittled. "But not even your precious magic can match up with _my_ power." He mockingly saluted to the recruits and added, "It's been a real slice, kiddies, but I've got a date with a Sumerian!" On this, the former Lord of the Underworld vanished in a larger puff of his black smoke that temporary left everyone coughing and their vision impaired.

Once the smoke had cleared, Alex was left staring back at a defeated Phineas, who picked himself up off of Ferb, CeCe, and Rocky, who had done the same. "There's nothing more we can do. They're going to be destroyed! We're _all_ going to be destroyed!" The sad look in his eyes broke Alex's heart. She wished there was something she could tell him to help lift his spirits or bring him and the others hope, but there was nothing that _could_ be said.

* * *

"We have an update on the situation occurring in Central Park at this time. We've received word that the Ghostbusters are on their way to investigate the situation. I repeat, the Ghostbusters are on their way to Central Park at this very moment. If you are watching or listening to this broadcast and are currently on the streets right now, we ask that you please give the Ghostbusters room to make it to the park in time to handle this dire situation."

"Oh, the Ghostbusters! Thank Goodness," said Susan Frankenstein, while watching the newscast of the Central Park event for the past hour with her husband Ben, their son Victor, and the family dog Sparky in their living room.

"I'm sure this will all be over soon with them there." Ben suspected.

Sparky barked at their television set as the image of the Ecto-1 speeding down the streets of the city showed up. Victor petted the small bull terrier. It was a year since he had brought the dog back to life after he was hit by a car during Victor's ballgame. The scars from the stitches he received were still there, as were the bolts from his neck, which every then and now Sparky had to be charged up through like a battery. His tail still came off whenever he wagged it too much – something Victor had been meaning to fix – but, otherwise, he was still as perfect as he was before his death. Victor shared in Sparky's enthusiasm over the emergence of his heroes, the Ghostbusters, who he sent an application to for their now-defunct Junior Ghostbusters program a few years ago. After the disappearance of the first Ghostbusters team (Kimberly Venkman, J.G. Stantz, Sean Spengler, and Diana Zeddemore), Victor never got the results back for his application and gave up hope of becoming a Ghostbuster.

"I wonder how they will get rid of that horrible-looking mountain." Susan said.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll blast it away with their Neutron Packs." Ben presumed.

"It's _Proton_ Packs, Dad." Victor corrected. "I don't think there's enough power in them to _completely_ blast it apart. They will need something stronger – something with enough atomic force to obliterate it, molecule by molecule."

Ben looked upon his highly intellectual son amusingly. "They could certainly use a bright boy like you out there with them, Victor."

"Ben!" Susan whispered to her husband in a scolding manner.

"What?" Ben innocuously remarked. He then saw how disillusioned Victor appeared to be from his comment and realized what he had done. "Oh! Oh, Victor, I…I'm sorry, son."

Victor slightly shook his head. "It's O.K., Dad. I'm happier just being here with you guys." He petted Sparky, who licked his owner's face – a gesture that made Victor cheerful again.

In the midst of the Frankenstein family's viewing of the Central Park newscast, there came a flash of light at the corners of their eyes. The instant it happened they turned around curiously. "Was that lightning?" Ben wondered.

"Couldn't be." Susan denied. "There's barely a cloud in the sky this evening."

They glanced at the glass door that gave them a view of their backyard and the starry night sky. However, Sparky spotted something in the backyard that caught his interest more. Barking and rushing over to the glass door, Sparky pressed his hind paws against the glass.

"Sparky? What is it, boy?" Victor asked, joining his dog over to the glass door. Looking out into the backyard, Victor's eyes grew wide. "Mom! Dad!"

Responding to Victor's shouts for them, Ben and Susan joined their son and Sparky at the glass door. They instantly saw what they did: **the first Ghostbusters – Kimberly Venkman, J.G. Stantz, Sean Spengler, and Diana Zeddemore – standing in the middle of their backyard**. With the exception of Diana, they were donned in Ghostbuster uniforms but had none of their equipment on them. Sean Spengler, on the other hand, was carrying a long, rolled-up sheet of paper.

"It's them!" Victor joyously exclaimed. "It's the missing Ghostbusters!"

"How on earth did they get in our backyard?" Susan questioned.

Ben slid open the glass door and stepped out with his family, approaching the group. "Are you all alright?"

Kim and her team smiled at the family whose home they had somehow trespassed. "We're fine. Thanks."

"We're sorry for intruding on your property." Diana said. "We were supposed to have arrived at our headquarters downtown – not in Queens."

"No, no, it's fine." Ben assured. "We're just thankful that you're back. Your replacements are on their way now to Central Park to take care of the large mountain that showed up there."

J.G. gawked at Ben in alarm from what he just told them. "Our _what_ are on their way _where_ to do _what_?"

"It's happening on TV right now." Victor told them, leading everyone back inside the house for them to see the _other_ Ghostbusters arriving upon Central Park.

At the moment Kim, J.G., Sean, and Diana had seen the all-too-familiar mountain standing in the middle of Central Park, their stomachs sank to their feet and their bodies grew cold. They knew what the presence of the mountain in _their_ New York City meant, and the fact that their equivalents were going to confront it and the entity that dwelled within it made them extremely disconcerted.

"We don't have much time left," said Sean, who basically stated what Kim, J.G., and Diana were already thinking.


	14. Gettin' The Band Back Together

**Chapter Fourteen: Gettin' the Band Back Together**

Lisa wished it had been under better circumstances to be reunited with the Tampa Bay Ghostbusters after four years, but the emergence of Bald Mountain in New York forced her and Patrick to take the necessary measure in getting themselves prepared for what would certainly be the greatest battle ever. They managed to contact Charles, Michael, Megan, Jose, Rob, Ben Bond, and David – some of whom had already seen the news on TV and was on their way to see them before they called. Lisa and Patrick did not just stop with the Tampa Bay team; Lisa knew that one Ghostbusters team wouldn't stand a chance against Chernabog and suggested enlisting _all_ the Ghostbusters units in their contacts to help in the fight.

"Are you outta your damn mind?" Ben responded to the idea as Lisa shared it with them and the rest of the Tampa Bay GBs. "Most of the teams out there are charity workers! They haven't _once_ fought a ghost – not like the one there in N.Y.C. right now! Their equipment not even _real_ – just a prop they built and sell on for rent money!"

"I know." Lisa calmly acknowledged her friend's point. "But something needs to be done about that winged bastard before he takes away the only world we have. I'm willing to take that risk."

"But are they?" Megan stepped in and asked. "Let's be real on this, guys – not every Ghostbuster has the balls to do what those boys up in New York are doing right now. Hell, I'm startin' to think even _we're_ insane going up there ourselves."

"She's right." Rob said. "Ain't no way we'll make it outta this alive."

"That maybe so." They all looked downward to see Mickey literally stepping into the conversation with Goofy, Donald, and Max at his side. "But what other choice have we got? I don't know about you all, but I'm not gonna live in a place where demons take over. We know how everybody feels about this, but Goofy, Donald, and I have been through just as worse with Maleficent, Frollo, Shan Yu, The Horned King, and even Hades! Yeah, it's been scary with each of those villains trying to destroy everything and everyone we know and love, but fighting for who and what we love gives us the courage to do what needs to be done. We can do this, everybody!"

The mouse's words were greatly encouraging. It was a bit comforting for them to have members of the Disney Ghostbusters unit from New York that were just as experienced as Kimberly Venkman, J.G. Stantz, Sean Spengler, and Diana Zeddemore. And even though it was just Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Max, and P.J., the Tampa Bay team still counted themselves to be fortunate. "Alright," said Ben, speaking on behalf of his teammates. "We _can_ do this."

"We can do this," the other Tampa Bay members attested.

Lisa and Patrick both nodded and smiled. "Thanks, guys," said Patrick. "We'll leave for New York in half an hour. Bring whatever equipment you need. I'm sure they'll have more for us to use up there." He then looked to Lisa and whispered, "I'll see if I can round up anyone else who'll listen."

Lisa gave him an optimistic wink. "They'll listen." Just after everyone left the room, Lisa realized that P.J. had been standing in the corner the entire time and looking a bit troubled. "P.J.? You okay, sweetheart?"

P.J. was so distracted that he almost didn't realize that Lisa was talking to him. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm cool," he answered in a very gloomy manner.

"It doesn't sound like it." Lisa observed.

He sighed, realizing that there was no hiding his feelings. "I called my dad earlier to see how he's been handlin' me gone for four years."

"Aww. I'm sure he's missed you."

"He didn't even know I've been gone that long!"

Lisa felt a bit sheepish over her last remark, following this information. "Oh."

"He's been more focused on shutting the Ghostbusters down than to realize that his own son's been missing for _four_ years – FOUR YEARS!" He was clearly distraught and even a little angered by this. Lisa felt for him; no father should ever neglect his son in that way. "Maybe I should just bail."

"What?"

As Lisa said the word in her dissatisfactory manner, she detected a slight echo near her. She then realized that Max had walked back in and heard what P.J. said as well and expressed himself in the same way as her. "What do you mean 'bail,' Peej?" He asked his best friend of twenty years. "Didn't you hear Mickey a second ago? We're in this together! Always have, always will!"

"You don't understand, Max. You _know_ my dad." P.J. said. "If he finds out that I'm still with the Ghostbusters, he'll _ground_ me for eternity!"

Lisa rolled her eyes in disgust. "Oh, my god! Are you _serious_? P.J., you are a grown-ass man! You don't need your daddy's permission for _anything_ anymore! You can tell him to screw off, if he doesn't respect your life choices!"

Her advice sent shivers down P.J. "If I told my dad _that_, he'd destroy me for sure!" He shook his head and added, "Man, I don't know."

"Well, you _better_ know by the time we get back to New York!" Max snapped. "'Cause if you bail on the team _and_ me – your _best friend_ – you can consider our friendship _done_!"

Max's ultimatum stunned P.J. speechless. Lisa watched Goofy's son storm out of the room, leaving P.J. feeling completely guilty of himself and the fear his father had put in him. Although Max's warning was harsh, Lisa admitted that it had to be said to wake P.J. out of his fear of his father and make a mature choice. She only hoped that he would make the _right_ choice for the sake of their impending mission.

* * *

A blinding white light welcomed Seraphim as she awakened from her unconscious state. She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious, but she certainly remembered _why_ she was. The punishment she endured at the grotesque hands of her brother was nothing she had ever experienced before in her mortal form. She could still feel every gruesome blow Gorin unleashed on her at the ruins of Gozer's temple on the rooftop of Dana Barrett's apartment. How she survived it all was a total mystery to her.

That was until she heard the voice of a young female…

"How ya feelin'?"

Seraphim could only see whiteness, only because she had been lying down when she reawakened. Her body still slightly racked with pain, she slowly and carefully sat herself up to see the girl who was there with her – and _where_ she was exactly. The first thing she caught sight of was her incredibly tattered Ghostbuster uniform – compliments of her and her brother's extreme fight. She could see sections of her abdomen, legs, and breasts through the holes torn into the fabric, which was stained with her own blood. Gorin had beaten her so savagely that she could hardly remember how most of the holes in her suit had gotten there.

After gazing upon her worn-out suit, Seraphim's eyes finally connected with the room she was in – if it even could be called a room. It was just endless whiteness, which made the "room" feel bigger than it might have actually been. The only two things that stood out from the vast whiteness were her and one other woman accompanying her there – Meagan Tully. It took a while for Seraphim's eyes to adjust to Meagan's shape in the bright white area; she saw how she was wearing some type of strange helmet. Meagan appeared to be sitting down in a chair; however, the chair wasn't entirely visible due to it being so white and glowing so bright, much like everything else in the room – including the "bed" that Seraphim woke up on. Meagan looked more like she was squatting rather than sitting, making her appear even more awkward in addition to the strange device on her head. To make things even weirder, Meagan had been eating a plate full of a dozen blue cupcakes; bits of the frosting covered around her mouth.

"Hi." She waved at Seraphim with a hand that had blue frosting on the fingertips.

Seraphim attempted to return the greeting but found great difficulty doing so; there was a stinging, throbbing sensation running through her right arm. She opted instead to groggily say, "Hi."

After licking the frosting off her fingertips, Meagan picked up one of the cupcakes from the plate and held it towards Seraphim as an offering. "Want one?"

Had Seraphim felt a need to eat, she certainly would not have accepted the particular cupcake Meagan was holding. She politely shook her head and said, "No, thanks."

Meagan acknowledged her decline and went right to eating away at the cupcake. "They gave these to me when they brought me on board," she said with a mouthful of the dessert. "They're supposed to put some meat back on my bones, after Dr. Venkman said that I should be a _Victoria's Secret_ supermodel. But I can't tell if I have for sure. Can you?" She stood up from her invisible chair and showed herself off to Seraphim.

Seraphim could see that Meagan had indeed filled back into her flight suit – perhaps even a little _too_ much. Seraphim wasn't sure what was in those cupcakes, but there was certainly enough to beef Meagan up to the point her uniform became snug on her body, mainly in her derriere. "You look great," said Seraphim, giving her honest response. Once she saw how satisfied Meagan was from her answer, she focused on something the young Ghostbuster said earlier in their exchange. "They…who are 'they?'"

"What?" Meagan uttered upon taking a bite from another cupcake.

"You said 'they' gave you those cupcakes and brought you on board." Seraphim recalled. "On board _where_?"

"The Zeta Ghostbusters' ship…in space!" Meagan said with excitement.

Seraphim's face scrunched – not from pain but confusion. "_Zeta_ Ghostbusters?"

Meagan nodded. "They're like 'Alien Ghostbusters.' They're the ones who patched you up."

Seraphim let out a massive groan while painfully getting off the invisible bed. "Ohhh, damn. Doesn't feel that way."

"You were pretty jacked up when they brought you in. They did the best they could for you."

Finally managing to stand upright, Seraphim tried to keep herself balanced. The pain was unbearable in most places on her body, but the one place where it was absolutely grueling was her face – and she knew why. "Is there a mirror anywhere around here?"

Before Meagan could've had a chance to respond, a full-length mirror suddenly morphed from the "wall" nearest Seraphim, as if responding to her request for one. Just as soon as the mirror had appeared in front of her, Seraphim bore witness to the extremities of the damage her brother had left on her once-flawless, beautiful face. There were three deep scars running parallel from the upper right side to the lower left, going across her eyes, nose, and mouth. The scars were large and puffy enough to distract anyone from the other features of her face.

Meagan watched Seraphim staring at her reflection and noticed her fists clenching hard, reflecting the anger swelling within her. "I…I'm sorry."

"My brother let me live to bear these scars…like an outcast to society." Seraphim said in her anger. "He knew it was my desire to live among mortals – to be free from the tyranny that comes with being the daughter of the devil himself. And now he's taken _that_ from me."

"B-But it's really not that bad…at least when you look at it from a certain—"

"IT _IS_ THAT BAD, MEAGAN!"

A fist – _her_ fist – connected with the mirror. Her reflection had splintered beneath a nasty crack resembling a spider web, although it didn't matter much to Seraphim, finding the face looking back at her hideous either way.

"Ooh. Girl, don't you realize that you just gave yourself years of bad luck doing that?"

Meagan jumped in alarm as soon as she heard the voice of Joie Zeddemore speak out near her. She turned to find the Zeta Ghostbuster standing in the bright white room with her and Seraphim, not having seen or even heard how she entered.

Seraphim remained gazing at her cracked reflection during Joie's surprise entrance. Her witty statement did not help her situation much. "My birth came from bad luck," she gravely remarked to it.

"Yeah, I know." Joie said with a smug look on her pale white face. "Big, bad ol' daddy's Chernabog. That's why you and Blueberry Cupcake over here are being confined in our holding cell until we've kicked your old man's ass into oblivion."

The information she gave surprised and baffled both Seraphim and Meagan. "Wait," Meagan was first to express her reaction. "You all said that I'm a guest on this ship!"

"Yeeeeeeeah," Joie sardonically said. "That was until we found out that you're just as dangerous with that beast of Gozer inside you." She mockingly patted Meagan's helmet and added, "Just keep this on that fat noggin of yours and we won't have to kill you, m'kay?"

The idea of being confined in the Zetas' holding cell brought immense frustration over Seraphim, but not as much as the idea of the Ghostbusters fighting Chernabog without her. "You _need_ to let me off this ship," she fiercely demanded. "You're going to need my help in stopping my father."

"Oh, I think we're gonna do just fine without you." Joie retorted. "You two are more trouble than you're worth combined." She then added with an even smugger grin, "Hell, either of you will be lucky if you're allowed live after Chernie's dead and gone…especially _you_, Scarface."

Driven to her boiling point, especially from Joie's last insult, Seraphim ferociously lunged at the Zeta Ghostbuster…only to find herself falling into the blinding white floor. Looking back at Joie, Seraphim saw her body shimmering. What they believed to be the _actual_ Joie Zeddemore standing in the holding cell with them was merely a hologram. It was real enough to detect their movement, including the action Seraphim just made against it, which was evident from how Joie glanced down at Seraphim and jeeringly laughed. "I figured you'd try some shit like that, which is why we're projecting this holographic image of me from the ship's bridge. Enjoy the rest of your stay."

The shimmering hologram hastily disappeared into atoms, leaving Seraphim and Meagan, who now realized they were prisoners…not guests.


	15. When the Crap Hits the Fan

**Chapter Fifteen: When the $#%* Hits the Fan**

"Well, this sucks," said Meagan, whilst taking another bite from another cupcake, which she began to sense some discrepancy with now that she knew the real reason behind her presence on the Zetas' ship. They were definitely tasty treats, no doubt; she figured they had a blueberry flavor in them – because of all the blue – but it surprisingly tasted more like chocolate to her.

"WILL YOU _STOP_ STUFFING YOUR FACE?!" Seraphim roared as she knocked the tray of remaining cupcakes out of Meagan's hands, letting them fall to the bright white floor and putting blue frosty stains all over it. "We need to find a way out of here, and it's not gonna help us any with you eating _their_ food!"

Seraphim sounded desperate – and for good reason. The Zetas were keeping both her and Meagan there in the endless white room like caged animals. Meagan admitted that she had a point over the cupcakes. As delicious as they were, the Zetas had probably fed them to her in order to weigh her body down so that it would be useless to Allha. It was a great plan yet an insult to Meagan at the same time. If it was in the Zetas' intention to use her cholesterol level as a weapon against the demonic character in her, it had to be the most senseless plan she ever heard of. Even while glancing upon her rapidly plumped body, she felt disgusted to have let herself fall ploy to their twisted scheme.

"How _can_ we get out?" She questioned to Seraphim. "I don't see any sign of a door or something."

"There's gotta be a way!" Seraphim snapped in frustration. Meagan couldn't tell if she was more frustrated with being contained than she was with the scars on her face, which Meagan still believed wasn't as bad as Seraphim thought it was.

Watching her act so irate, Meagan came to a conclusion that she knew Seraphim wouldn't like: "Maybe it's for the best that they've got us holed up in here."

Just as she had anticipated, Seraphim shot a look over to her that made her back away, even though Seraphim stood a good twelve feet from her. "_What?_"

"Now hear me out." Meagan pleaded. "All I'm saying is we both _literally_ got some jacked-up demons in us. It'd only do everybody more harm than good to break out of here, especially if our demons were to get out."

Seraphim advanced on Meagan, making her back away even further until she hit a wall that she obviously couldn't see. Seraphim got her scarred face close enough to hers that both women could smell each other's breath – Meagan's chocolate-coated breath and Seraphim's odorless yet fiery hot breath. There was actual fire in the pupils of Seraphim's eyes – Meagan could see it as clear as a bell. Rather than pulverize her for speaking her mind as Meagan suspected she would do, Seraphim merely addressed her in a calm, sensible manner. "Let me lay down the worst-case scenario for you: if Gozer wins the 'custody battle' over our world, then I'm surely going to be dead and _you_ will cease to exist, permitting Allha to take over completely. But if my father wins the battle, then _both_ of our asses will perish in _his_ new rule. Either way, you won't live long enough to bear a child. Is the picture clear enough for you now, dear?"

Seraphim could hear Meagan swallow loud and hard; undoubtedly, the message had gotten through. "Alright," Meagan said – the nervousness (reluctance) evident in her voice.

Both women immediately went to work in searching all about the bright white room, starting with the "wall" that Meagan had backed into. They took opposite ends of it, searching for a lining to a possible door. They rubbed their palms against its bright white surface, which felt almost organic to them. Four corners separated at six yards from each other were all the women could find before meeting up on the other side of the room. The perimeter of the seemingly rectangular room was a good sixty meters, but not a single sign of a door anywhere around. Her frustration increasing, Seraphim returned to the only visible part of the room: the shattered mirror. Upon looking at it, she pondered for a second if their exit was as simple as how the mirror had formed.

"Door," she looked up (to nowhere in particular) and said, hoping that it _was_ just that easy. Nothing happened. "Exit." Still nothing happened. She sighed, giving in to their dilemma.

Then…she felt it.

Returning her gaze to the cracked mirror, she placed the palm of her right hand up close to it to confirm what she had just detected. The cool sensation came again, blowing into her palm. A breeze. A chilling breeze, coming through the cracks in the mirror. Seraphim smiled – hope returning to her once again. Without warning to Meagan, she unleashed a powerful kick to the mirror, the steel toe of her boot putting another splintered crack in the lower half of it.

Meagan watched her unleash more kicks and punches to the heavily damaged mirror. The young Ghostbuster believed that her frustrated had reached an all-time high and the only thing she could take it out on was the mirror. But then she felt the cold breeze come in through the holes Seraphim was tearing into with her bare hands and realized what the havoc was really all about. It wasn't done without consequence, however; after some time, Seraphim's hands bled, dripping crimson all over the bright white floor, which had already been littered with glass and debris. She did not seem to care about the pain – she had already suffered through much worse earlier at the hands of her brother.

With a crude escape route finally provided for them, Seraphim looked to Meagan and gestured to it with her bloodied right hand. "After you?"

Meagan was highly reluctant to step out first before Seraphim, but she did so anyway to finally get out of the daunting white holding cell. She stepped through the opening and into an oval-shaped corridor, which appeared to have been empty. The corridor's walls and ceiling were all purple and looked to be organic in design; to Meagan (and Seraphim, once _she_ stepped out into the scene), they looked to be living tissue that pulsated. Neither Meagan nor Seraphim had seen anything like it, which made it that much more _alien_ and even revolting to them both. The only thing in the corridor that _didn't_ appear to be organic was the pure titanium floor that they stepped onto.

Seraphim and Meagan's boots made loud clanging noises as they exited. "Crap," Meagan quietly exclaimed, realizing someone might've heard.

"Relax." Seraphim calmly whispered. "There's nobody around to…"

That's when they saw her – a redheaded, orange-skinned, rosy-cheeked woman in a Zeta Ghostbuster uniform, looking directly at them from a dozen feet away in shock. They had frozen in place along with her, none of them making any sort of movement due to caution. Realizing the alien woman was terrified of them, Meagan attempted in making a peaceful approach. She slowly walked towards her and said, "It's O.K. We don't mean any harm. We just—"

But the orange-skinned woman did not stick around long enough to hear the rest of Meagan's rationalization. She swiftly turned in the opposite direction and ran like hell down the corridor. Seraphim, seeing that Meagan's peaceful approach had not helped whatsoever, took a more aggressive one. Moving at unnaturally quick speed, Seraphim caught up with the orange-skinned Zeta Ghostbuster and restrained her before she could move another foot down the corridor. She placed one of her bloodied hands across her mouth to muffle her as she whispered into her ear.

"Now listen. We don't want any trouble – not from you and sure as hell not from the other people on this ship. But if you scream for help when I take my hand away from your mouth, I won't hesitate to kill you."

The threat Seraphim issued to the woman had taken Meagan by surprise and even scared _her_ as much as it had the orange-skinned alien.

"Nod if you understand me." Seraphim requested, and the alien woman did in intimidation, urging Seraphim to release her bloodied hand from her face. Because the alien's skin was so orange, traces of Seraphim's blood could barely be detected around her mouth.

Meagan saw how beautiful the woman looked, despite her bizarre features, and grew to be a little curious of her. "What's your name?" She again took a more peaceful approach in her delivery, not wanting this alien woman to see them as more of a threat than they already were.

"N-Nubia. Nubia Melnitz."

Meagan looked upon the orange-skinned woman with more amusement than before, realizing that she was Christina Melnitz's equivalent. Smiling over this, she asked her, "Are you the Zeta Ghostbusters' secretary?"

"I-I'm only an attendant…which is like a secretary, I guess." Nubia confirmed.

Meagan giggled. "That is so cool!"

Seraphim rolled her eyes in aggravation. "I hate to break up a pointless discussion, but – Nubia, was it? – we _need_ you to take us to the bridge…_now_." She glared at Nubia with her fiery eyes, terrifying the Zeta Ghostbuster into doing her bidding.

* * *

The bridge of the Zeta Ghostbusters' massive ship was an enormous room shaped in a semicircle with four separate control panels with holographic buttons, keys, and switches – each one for each member of the team – and a wide window that encompasses half of the room and gives them a spectacular view of Earth. Joie Zeddemore entered the room after taking a trip to the ship's imaging chamber to send a message to their "special guests." Axel, Chrissy, and Maryl-Lyn were already present at their respective control stations when she arrived.

"Hey, Chris," she said while approaching Chrissy's station. "Come up with any juicy bits of info on our counterparts of _this_ universe?"

From her station, Chrissy stood gazing upon an assortment of holographic files projected from her semicircle-shaped console – each file reflecting off her cybernetic and organic eyes. "Your counterpart was one hundred percent Venusian, according to records," she informed.

Joie was elated by this news. "Yes!" But her celebration was cut short once she took note in the verb tense that her cyborg fellow Zeta had used. "Wait. What do you mean she 'was'?"

"In this universe, she is dead." Chrissy said. "Died ten years prior to our arrival to be precise."

Joie desolately shook her head. "Damn."

"Hey, don't be too down by it, Z." Maryl-Lyn remarked. "She might not have been what you expected her to be. Most equivalents don't turn out exactly the way _we_ did. Remember how _you_ were when we found you?"

Joie shrugged. "O.K. So I was a bit of a pain-in-the-ass…"

"A bit?" Axel said, his translator not enough to express his sarcasm over Joie's statement – though she did catch on to it, much to her annoyance.

"_The point_ is that it's sad I'll never get a chance to meet her." Joie stated. "I just hope she didn't go out like a punk."

Chrissy continued glancing over the projected files in front of her. "The records do not state _how_ she died – but they _do_ mention _my_ counterpart."

"Oh, really?" Joie said with amusement. "Did yours bite it, too?"

"No." Chrissy confirmed. "She is still very much alive. Although her occupation poses an intriguing question for me: what does 'M.I.B.' stand for?"

The whooshing sound that was the main door to the bridge sliding open robbed any chance of Chrissy getting a possible answer to her inquiry. All heads turned to the doorway as Nubia Melnitz walked in…with Seraphim and Meagan. Alarmed by the presence of the two "guests," who were supposed to be in containment, Chrissy's body suddenly responded to the threat; swiftly, both of her arms robotically transformed into neutrino wands, leaving no trace of skin or even fabric from the sleeves of her uniform anywhere between the tips of the wands and her shoulders. She took aim at the two intruders, surprising and baffling Meagan with her impressive trick and scaring Seraphim to the point where she was forced to threateningly grasp her right hand at Nubia's throat.

"Whatever you plan on doing, I wouldn't, unless you want to see her larynx out in the open!" Seraphim warned the cyborg Zeta Ghostbuster.

Witnessing her action towards Nubia, Axel fearfully turned to the armed Chrissy and spoke two words through his translator: "Power down!" On this command, the half-organic/half-cybernetic body of Chrissy Spengler suddenly went limp – her upper half slouched over with her neutrino arms dangling uselessly in front of her legs.

What Axel had done to Chrissy took Joie completely by surprise. "What the hell did you do _that_ for?"

"Because he knows if you people don't play your cards right, everyone on this ship is screwed!" Seraphim exclaimed. "Now tell me…_where_ is my father right now?"

None of the other three Zetas said a word until Seraphim tightened her grip on Nubia's neck, making her squeal in pain. It was finally Maryl-Lyn who relented: "Alright, alright! Just…_don't_ hurt her! Chernabog's mountain – Bald Mountain – rose in Central Park not very long ago."

"Then beam us down there!" Seraphim viciously demanded.

Joie snickered – a gesture that caught everyone off guard, specifically Seraphim.

"Did I say something funny?" She furiously reacted to the snickering Venusian. "If I were you, I'd take the life of your attendant here _very_ seriously, or else…"

"Or else _what_?" Joie snapped. "You ain't gonna do a damn thing. I saw you back there in the holding cell – that angst you showed over being the offspring of the devil. You're so determined _not _to follow in daddy's footsteps and become a destroyer just like him, yet here you are, acting _just_ like him. You kill her…you're no better than him."

Nubia could feel the tight grip on her throat slackening. Surprised from this, she glanced over to Seraphim, whose scarred face – which had registered frightening levels of fury and madness only seconds ago – began to express remorse and regret. This woman was clearly not a murderer and had merely been giving empty threats to everyone on that ship, including Nubia.

Meagan also realized that Seraphim seemed to be giving up and grew highly nervous. After all they went through to escape from the Zetas' holding cell, to surrender at that moment was certainly not an option. There was no doubt in Meagan's mind that the Zetas would have both of them executed, seeing that they were an even greater threat than they realized and could _not_ be contained. Quickly, before Seraphim could give the impression that she was surrendering or any of the Zetas brought Chrissy back online, Meagan stepped in and made a threat of her own: "Beam us down…or I take this thing off." Her hands went to her helmet to emphasize her threat to the Zetas.

With Seraphim, Joie snickered; but with Meagan, Joie was in full-out hysteria, laughing over the threat that the young Ghostbuster had issued to them. Axel and Maryl-Lyn exchanged awkward glances over Joie's lack of gravity to the situation, having taken Meagan with more seriousness than their fellow Zeta could even bother to have.

"You're kidding me, right?" Joie questioned to Meagan. "You're the most gutless one of them all – well, at least you _were_, before you hit up on all those sweets we gave ya!"

Initially, Meagan was terrified just from stepping in and issuing her threat, not wanting to bring out Allha and let her hurt anyone; but Joie's mockery of her brought out a fire in her that she never felt before. She wasn't sure if it was Allha herself that made her feel so dark, but she definitely was _not_ herself when she said: "Let us out now or I will tear everything and every_one_ on this ship apart – starting with _you_."

There was darkness in her eyes that was evident to everyone in the room, including Joie. As much as the Venusian tried to maintain her tough façade, she was secretly put off from the murderous way that Meagan was staring down at her. No longer laughing or having fun, she boldly told the young Ghostbuster, "Even _you_ aren't dumb enough to try that."

Maintaining her vicious glare at Joie, Meagan's fingers slowly went to the straps that held the helmet on her head. And as soon as the first _snap_ echoed through the hollowed room…

"ALRIGHT, DAMMIT! ALRIGHT!"

The hardcore pretense displayed from the Venusian had been broken. Seraphim was amazed yet terrified from the convincing manner in which Meagan got Joie to yield. But even as she looked upon Meagan, Seraphim knew something had changed about her during that whole scene between herself and Joie. It was like Meagan Tully was no longer standing there, but someone else entirely.

As the Zetas began work on getting Seraphim and Meagan off their ship, Seraphim let go of Nubia's throat and whispered to her, "I'm sorry." Her apology was genuine and Nubia knew it, looking upon Seraphim with grateful eyes.

There was a quick flash of light and, instantly, Meagan and Seraphim had vanished from the bridge. Joie gazed at the empty space once occupied by the two women and muttered in immense frustration, "Psycho lil' bitch."


	16. Class Seven - Now In Session

**Chapter Sixteen: Class Seven – Now In Session**

Peter, Ray, and Egon's arrival in Central Park did not come without a warm welcome. There were certain New York citizens that had ignored warning about staying indoors or decided against evacuation, wanting instead to cheer the Ghostbusters on from across the street. There were signs held high that read "We You, Ghostbusters" or "Save Us From The Apocalypse!" Many of the cheering fans were donned in black t-shirts with the Ghostbusters logo branded on them; some even had collectible _Mattel_ figurines of Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston ready to be signed. It was indeed a madhouse near the Central Park area once the Ecto-1 pulled up at the park entrance.

"God, I love New York," said a jubilant Peter. "It's _still_ New York, no matter what universe you're in."

While Peter's attention had been on the gathering of crazed fans, Ray's was on the presence of military personnel that patrolled the area. There were tanks, Hummers, and jeeps parked on the street, and several uniformed soldiers armed to the teeth for a battle that they were bound to lose – in Ray's eyes. One young soldier had approached them as they exited the Ecto. "Thank God you guys showed," he said before offering his right hand in Peter's direction. "I'm C.O. Michael Vandiver."

"The officer in command, eh?" Peter remarked, shaking Vandiver's hand. "Nice to have you boys with us."

"Your assistance is appreciated here, but I'm afraid it isn't necessary." Ray said.

Vandiver nodded understandingly. "We know. But we're here by our own accord. We want to give back for all the great help you guys have given the city over the past four years." He gestured to the towering mountain near them and added, "Even though our guns won't do a lick of good against whatever it is we're dealing with here, we'll do our damnedest to provide enough of a distraction to let you boys do your thing."

The plan seemed sound to Peter, Ray, and Egon, although Ray still had his doubts about the military getting involved – it was certainly a first for them to fight a deity with servicemen and servicewomen. In the end, Ray knew that Peter would have the final decision on the matter, and he sealed the deal when he willingly nodded and said, "Alright then. Let's do this."

* * *

With a large tank and a whole platoon of military soldiers at their side, Ray, Egon, and Peter felt more confident going to the mountain on foot than they had when they left the firehouse. They walked to the exact spot where they were last night to inspect the mysterious drainage of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. It was clear now that the force behind the mountain – Chernabog – was the source of the drainage and formation of the mountain itself.

Once they arrived near the base of the mountain, they were astounded to see how it was ten times as colossal as it looked on television; looking up at it made looking up at the Empire State Building not even worth the neck strain. Standing near the base, they felt intense heat radiating from it that forced them to recoil. "Jeez! Feels like we're standing in front of one giant furnace!" Ray exclaimed. "Or hell itself!"

Egon positioned the P.K.E. meter toward the mountain's base. All of the sudden, the device began to melt right in his hand, forcing him to drop it to the ground, where it became nothing more than a fizzing puddle. Witnessing what had happened to the P.K.E., Peter jested, "Chernie must not be a fan of modern technology."

Vandiver and his platoon stood with Peter, Ray, and Egon gazing upon the ominous and extraordinarily hot mountain. They could see yellow ectoplasm ("slime") oozing from its structure and bubbling, boiling, and smoking while it streamed over every portion of it. The spots from where the yellow slime had poured from gave Ray an idea. "Look! See where the slime's coming out?"

"How can you _not_?" Peter said in disgust.

"Those pores have got to be weak points in structure – much like an _actual_ mountain." Ray deduced. "I bet a concentrated blast from our streams will break those sections apart and give us a clear shot at the core."

Ray's plan was all that they had to go on; up to that point, they did not have much other than to blast the mountain away. Detaching their neutrino wands from their packs, they calculated their settings and took aim at the mountain, firing three sparkling orange-and-blue streams at the areas that oozed with the yellow slime the most. However, once the streams connected with the rocky exterior, there came an intense yet brief tremor over the Central Park area. The streams from Ray, Egon, and Peter's wands were forced to shut off as they were knocked off their feet along with Vandiver and his platoon.

"What the hell?" Vandiver exclaimed while he, his platoon, and the Ghostbusters got back on their feet.

One of the soldiers in the platoon – an attractive female of Asian descent with short, cropped black hair – was the last to get back up. Before she could stand completely up, she suddenly found herself unable to breathe, due to a large hand clasped at her throat. She had enough breath in her to give a short, audible shriek that attracted the attention of her fellow soldiers, Vandiver, and the Ghostbusters. They were shocked from what they had seen happening to the female soldier: **an eight-foot-tall creature with pinkish skin, a muscular build, a skeletal face, and a scalp that was nothing more than an exposed brain "shielded" by thorns had the female soldier lifted by her throat**. The soldier's body – which was only five feet, five inches tall – dangled three feet off the ground.

"Ming-Li!" Vandiver cried her name, but he was hopeless to do anything else.

Smoke rose from beneath the creature's grip on Ming-Li's throat, and the sheer agony on the young woman's face had increased to its maximum. It wasn't long before Ming-Li's entire body smoked and was engulfed in fire. The group watched in total terror as the eight-foot monster had burned the poor woman alive until there was nothing left of her but a charred skeleton. With the once-attractive female soldier destroyed, the creature let her skeletal remains fall to the ground and turned its attention to the other mortals in the area, particularly the Ghostbusters.

"LIGHT 'EM UP!" Peter screamed in a state of panic. His wand and that of Egon and Ray opened fire at the demonic, towering creature as it advanced towards them. Even Vandiver and the remaining members of his platoon opened fire with their guns and even the firepower from the tank. Unfortunately, neither the firepower of the military nor the Ghostbusters had any affect whatsoever on the creature.

"We didn't put a scratch on him!" Ray yelled in shock.

"Just keep unloading on him!" A desperate Peter Venkman screamed over the sounds of gunfire _and_ proton-fire.

As it continued making its slow advance on the group, the creature held up its enormous hands and deflected the Ghostbusters' proton streams from itself. It had redirected the path of the streams, forcing them to strike at the soldiers that flanked Peter, Ray, and Egon and fry each and every one of them to ashes. One connected to the large tank that accompanied them, reducing it to a large pile of burnt, twisted steel. Within mere seconds, every soldier in Vandiver's platoon – except for Vandiver himself – had been executed from the deflected proton streams. Horrorstruck from this, Peter, Ray, and Egon immediately ceased fire and stood helplessly while the eight-foot-tall creature continued to advance.

Vandiver had been in combat before and seen his share of death and destruction on the battlefield; but what he had witnessed happen to his platoon put a sense of fear and depression in him that he had never felt before. Yet he dared not to show it in front of his heroes, the Ghostbusters; instead, he put on a brave face and ordered them, "Run!"

"What?" Ray reacted to the command in surprise.

"I said get your asses outta here!" Vandiver said with a commanding tone that he normally gave to the men and women he had just lost. He watched as the creature responsible for so much death grew closer and closer to them, while taking his Glock 34 out and loading it with a fresh magazine. "Stick to the plan – I'll distract him while you guys do your thing."

"Hate to break it to ya, fella, but we have no 'thing' against…whatever _this_ is!" Ray exclaimed.

Vandiver sighed. "I know…but I'll be damned if I don't go out doing what I love…especially with _you guys_."

The young officer's bravery and dedication to duty impressed Ray, Egon, and Peter. Even in the face of a hopeless situation, Vandiver would never stop protecting innocents at bay. With no other choice, Ray, Egon, and Peter left Vandiver's side and ran away from the base of Bald Mountain.

With the creature now dangerously closer, Vandiver repeatedly fired his Glock 34 until there was nothing left in the magazine. All of the bullets struck the creature's naked torso, but they all merely sucked into its skin, leaving not a single wound where they hit. With no weapons or tactics left, Vandiver watched the creature take hold of both his Glock 34 and the hands that gripped it, melting and welding them together. Vandiver screamed in suffering as his hands became one with the emptied Glock in a disfiguring mesh of skin and metal.

Falling to his knees, Vandiver looked up at the creature, whose tall frame had increased from his low viewpoint. The creature stared down at him with its grotesque skeletal face and almost appeared to be grinning with its exposed black, razor-sharp teeth. It was either amused or angered by his tenacity; either way, the fact that it was just staring down at Michael had annoyed him.

"Well?" The young soldier said. "What're you waitin' for? Ugly piece of shit! You killed so much that you're _bored_ now? Or you just lost your balls?"

"I'm merely savoring the moment." The creature said, surprising Vandiver by its capability of speech.

"What the hell are you?"

The flames within the creature's eye sockets sparked as they connected with the eyes of Michael Vandiver. "I'm Gorin…and I'm the last thing you will _ever_ see in this world." After making this declaration, the creature opened its jaw wide just as a bright orange glow shined from deep within its mouth. The last thing its prey – the brave young commanding officer – had seen was a geyser of searing hot lava falling directly on him.

* * *

Peter, Ray, and Egon's feet had stopped running as soon as they heard the echo of a man yelling in torture. The sound was chilling, mostly because of their awareness of where the yelling had come from. Ray felt his body go numb from; never before had he seen so much desolation in one setting. Gozer was miles from what he, Egon, and Peter discovered in the creature that killed several men and women in front of their very eyes.

"The kids were right." Ray finally admitted in his moment of fear and desperation. "We're _way_ in over our heads with this. There's no way we can beat this thing with our equipment. Did you see how that creature redirected our streams? And how the P.K.E. _melted_?"

"We'll have to regroup our approach on this." Peter suggested to which Egon and Ray nodded in agreement. "We haul ass back to the firehouse and—"

_FLOOM!_

A fiery explosion erupted near the three Ghostbusters and out of it came the murderous, eight-foot-tall creature. Ray, Egon, and Peter ran once again, but the creature proved to be much faster, successfully charging at Ray and slamming its body against his. Ray's body flew across the air, smacking right into a nearby tree. Momentarily dazed, Ray regained composure long enough to see the creature open its mouth wide and emit some sort of bright orange glow from deep within itself. A glob of lava escaped from the creature's mouth and flew towards the surprised Ray.

"Damn!" He yelled while dodging out of harm's way, letting the glob of lava strike the tree, instantly setting it ablaze.

Ray made a quick decision upon seeing the tree begin to burn. He fired a short stream at its base, causing the entire tree to topple over and fall right onto his lava-spouting opponent, crushing it. Ray kept his neutrino wand aimed at the fallen tree, waiting for the creature to make some sort of comeback from the attack. After a minute, all he saw rising from beneath the fallen tree was dark gray smoke – a happy sign that the murderous creature had finally been vanquished.

"H-Hey! I got 'im! I got 'im!" He shouted to Egon and Peter, who ran out of Ray's sight but reemerged as soon as he delivered the good news.

"Are you _sure_, Ray?" Egon cautiously inquired.

"Yeah! See?" He pointed to the dark gray smoke as evidence of his claim. "What a nasty nozzle he was, eh? He had some kind of lava vomit that he tried to hit me with! I tell ya, out of all the things we dealt with in the past, this guy was—"

_BOOM!_

Ray, Egon, and Peter were knocked back from the incredible force of the explosion that erupted from beneath the fallen tree. Several pieces of burnt wood shot out in multiple directions while a flaming pit sat between two halves of the tree. Out from the flaming pit appeared the creature, standing without any damage to his body. It glared upon Peter, Ray, and Egon, breathing vigorously and seething with rage. From their horizontal positions, the Ghostbusters – stunned from the sudden explosion and the fact that their opponent remained tougher than ever – could do nothing else but watch the creature stand over them, open its mouth wide, and begin to unleash another geyser of "lava vomit" on the mortals.

"GORIN!"

The creature's attention went away from his next three victims just as someone tackled it away. Peter, Ray, and Egon took notice in the identity of their rescuer – a young brunette with a tattered Ghostbuster uniform and a scarred face. The mysterious young woman wrestled with the creature, using strength that was unspeakable to Ray, Peter, and Egon. She unloaded several kicks and punches to the creature, catching it completely off guard and showing off hand-to-hand combat skills that put Chuck Norris to shame.

"Who is _that_?" Ray questioned.

"She saved our asses – that's all I care to know right now." Peter stated.

In the midst of their viewing of the intense fistfight between the mysterious woman and the creature, another surprise visitor rushed in at the scene, blocking their view. It was another young woman, but this one they recognized as Meagan Tully – the former Junior Ghostbuster. "Thank God you guys are still alive," she joyously said to Peter, Ray, and Egon.

"Meagan Tully?" Ray uttered, appearing to be more amazed than Peter or Egon by the young lady's presence there in Central Park.

The surprise reflected on Meagan as she heard Ray Stantz – someone she hadn't met until that very moment – address her by her full name. "Wait. You know who _I_ am?"

"We've heard of you from the stories the cadets shared with us." Peter said.

"We believed you died with the rest of the Ghostbusters from this world four years ago." Egon added.

"But we didn't." Meagan remarked. "They're back at the firehouse right now."

"And that's where _we_ should be right now," said Ray, who glanced back at the creature and the young brunette as the fight between them intensified – the young woman grew weary, allowing the creature to gain the upper hand. "There's nothing more we can do here."

Ray, Egon, and Peter started running again, heading to the park exit. Meagan was hesitant in moving along with them, having seen how badly the young brunette was losing to the creature. "Wait a minute!" She cried to Ray, Egon, and Peter, who were already half a mile ahead of her. "We can't just leave Seraphim like this! She needs our help! Gorin will kill her!" But Peter, Ray, and Egon were completely out of earshot, making Meagan's pleas useless. She took one last look at Seraphim, who was getting her already-damaged face brutally pounded into by Gorin, and forced herself to turn away, joining the Peter, Ray, and Egon in their escape.

* * *

Seraphim knew the second round with her brother would end just as badly as the first one; she only needed to give the others enough time to escape, bearing the brunt of Gorin's wrath. She received a beating at his grotesque hands that was far more vicious than before. Once again, her body had bled. Sweat was added to the mix from the intense heat irradiating out of the mountain near them. It was more than her mortal form could take, and she had to practically submit herself to the severe punishment Gorin had inflicted on her.

"I grow tired of these pointless battles, sister!" He yelled in between blows. "You refuse to submit to your destiny as a child of darkness! So I guess someone will have to make the choice for you!"

After delivering multiple blows to every inch of her battered body, Gorin firmly grasped Seraphim's throat and left leg and lifted her high above his large, monstrous head. Seraphim knew what was coming next and braced herself. With incredible speed and force, her brother brought her body down upon his right knee. She landed back first and screamed from the incalculable pain that welcomed her body after her spine had shattered in two. Her entire body went limp –every inch of it throbbing.

Satisfied over robbing his sister of any mobility whatsoever, Gorin commenced in dragging her ravaged, barely conscious body to the base of the mountain. He left it sprawled out there upon the sweltering rocks and bubbling yellow slime. "Father will set you straight…while I deal with a more pressing matter." In an eruption of flames, Gorin vanished, abandoning his sister on the base of the mountain.

Seraphim wished that Gorin had killed her when the opportunity set itself, because being alone on the base of that mountain was the very last thing she wanted to happen…and Gorin knew that. Completely paralyzed, she had no other choice than to let the voices take over her mind, tormenting her. She cried out in anguish, yet no one was around to help. And even if that was possible, she knew no one could be able to stop what would happen next.


End file.
